August 23 - In the first six months of 2010, non-containerised general cargo, including heavy lift and project cargoes, rose by almost three percent to 1.2 million tonnes at the Port of Hamburg, according to official figures.

The rise in non-containerised traffic helped the port enjoy an eight percent growth in total cargo handling in the first half-year 2010 to 58.6 million tonnes. Imports grew by 12.3 percent to 33.7 million tonnes while exports reached 24.9 million tonnes, up a more modest 2.9 percent compared with the previous year.

Claudia Roller, CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing, said: "The pleasing cargo handling figures confirm the clear upward trend in cargo throughput of the Port of Hamburg."

If there is a positive business trend for the rest of the year, Roller predicts that the port may see around 119 million tonnes of cargo this year, a rise of just under 10 percent over 2009.