Every year more goods are transported by sea

The Belgian ports can once again present excellent figures for 2019. The total quantity of unloaded goods increased further to almost 152 million tonnes, and the quantity of loaded goods increased to 126 million tonnes.
Despite the increase in goods loaded and unloaded, there has been a very slight decrease in the number of arriving and departing ships, as the average size of these ships continues to increase.
With 311,000 passengers, the number of passengers has never been so low since 1997. However, no account is taken of passengers on cruise ships calling at Belgian ports.
Sea transport (1997-2019)
Sea transport (1997-2019) | 1997 | 2007 | 2010 | 2015 | 2018 | 2019 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arriving ships (a) | 32,248 | 34,043 | 28,812 | 24,806 | 25,758 | 25,726 |
Departing ships (a) | 30,291 | 35,080 | 29,640 | 25,770 | 26,737 | 26,484 |
Cargo loaded (x 1,000 t) | 61,856 | 102,365 | 100,794 | 112,468 | 122,303 | 125,914 |
Cargo unloaded (x 1,000 t) | 100,208 | 134,327 | 125,561 | 128,715 | 147,911 | 151,868 |
Disembarked passengers (x 1,000)(b) | 925 | 378 | 300 | 177 | 166 | 155 |
Embarked passengers (x 1,000)(b) | 1,021 | 381 | 310 | 176 | 169 | 156 |
(a) Including extra-Community transit. (b) Excluding cruise passengers Source: Statbel (Directorate-general Statistics - Statistics Belgium) |
Purpose and brief description
De zeevaartstatistieken geven een beeld van de evolutie van het aantal zeeschepen, de tonnenmaat en het scheepstype, het aantal en gewicht van de goederen, het vrachttype, het continent van lading of lossing, het aantal passagiers…
Frequency
Quarterly
Timing publication
Results available 5 months after the reference period