August 20 - The nine seaports of Niedersachsen saw positive developments in cargoes related to agriculture, the automotive industry and wind energy in the first half of 2014, which saw almost 23 million tonnes of cargo throughput.
In the port of Brake, throughput was up 12 percent at 3.19 million tonnes compared to the first half of 2013, with a positive performance in the wind energy segment with approximately 450,000 freight tonnes of cargo.
In Cuxhaven, whilst overall throughput was down 6 percent at 1.27 million tonnes, compared to the first half of 2013, the handling of general cargo was up 19 percent at 524,055 tonnes in the first half of 2014, with components for offshore wind energy developing positively.
Nordenham also saw a decline in cargo throughput although the port notes that new business areas, such as submarine cables, offshore components and other project cargoes leaves it hopeful for the future.
In Stade approximately 2.6 million tonnes of cargoes were handled in the first half of 2014, with growth in the shipments of wind energy blades - 3,129 tonnes in the first half of 2014, compared to 1,144 tonnes for the first half of 2013.
Inke Onnen-Luebben, managing director of Seaports of Niedersachsen said: "In key business areas such as the handling of automobiles, agricultural products and project cargoes such as wind energy components, we have seen very positive developments in the first half. For the second half of the year, we are optimistic and assume that we achieve a balanced result on the previous year."
