A report issued by the Damietta Port Authority (DPA) has showed a slight decline in the number of docked vessels in the port during April, compared to April 2016. According to the report, the number in the port declined to 229 in April 2017, compared to 230 in April 2016. The number of container and liquid bulk ships has noticeably declined during that period, compared to an increase in the number of general cargo ships.
According to the report, the amount of cargo traded in the port during April 2017 has declined by 3.2% compared to the same period of 2016, during which it reached 2.8 million tonnes in April 2017 compared to 2.9 million tonnes in April 2016.
The report showed a clear growth in the general cargo exports by 65% in April 2017, compared to the same period in 2016, where the volume of exported cargo increased from 338,300 tonnes in April, reaching 558,300 tonnes in April 2017, an increase of 219,000 tonnes supported by an increase in the amounts of exported methanol and fertilisers.
The number of twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in the port increased by 5.5% in April 2017, compared to April 2016. The number of containers in the port reached 77,200 TEUs in March 2016, and 81,400 in March 2017, according to the report.
The DPA revealed that the number of vessels received by the port during 2016 increased by 8% since 2015. The number of vessels increased from 2,357 in 2015 to 2,562 during 2016. The report attributed the apparent increase to the increased number of dry bulk ships by 46%, with an increase of 472 vessels during 2015 to reach 690 ships in 2016.
The increase in the amount of exported methanol was 371.5%. Exported quantities of methanol rose from 117,100 tonnes in 2015 to 552,200 tonnes in 2016.
The exported amounts of fertiliser have increased from 1m tonnes in 2015 to 2.1m tonnes during 2016.
The number of containers increased during the past year compared to 2015 by 12.6%, and registered an increase from 719,500 TEUs in 2015 to reach 810,300 TEUs during the past year.
