Port of Dunkirk Sets Box Volume Record

French Port of Dunkirk posted a new record in annual container volumes, handling 341,041 TEU in 2016, an increase of 7 percent compared to the previous year.

The rise is primarily attributed to “the support of leading regional shippers and the shipping company CMA CGM.”

Full containers alone rose by 7 percent to 221,196 TEU, according to the port.

Annual traffic for 2016 was over 46.7 million tons, an increase of 0.3 percent compared with 2015.

However, the port of Dunkirk said it did not escape the effects of the economic climate in 2016, which included the technical shutdowns, for maintenance, of the ArcelorMittal steel works blast furnace and the Versalis petrochemicals plant, the permanent closure of Société de la Raffinerie de Dunkerque (SRD) and the delayed opening of the LNG terminal.

The port further said it general cargoes continued well, with only a slight drop of 1 percent to 20.3 million tons.

Cross-Channel traffic increased by 17% to 16.25 million tons in 2016, while the traffic figures reached 16 million tons, falling by 2 percent.

Additionally, bulk solids went up by 1 percent to 22.1 million tons and bulk liquids rose by 2 percent to 4.3 million tons due to the arrival of the first tons of LNG.

Located on the North Sea, the Port of Dunkirk extends along a frontage of 17 kilometers and has two entries for shipping – Eastern Port and Western Port.