Impact of the Covid-19 crisis on maritime shipping: hardly any passengers
The Belgian ports clearly felt the impact of the Covid-19 crisis in 2020.
The total amount of unloaded goods decreased by almost 10 million tonnes compared to 2019; however, the amount of loaded goods remained almost status quo. The number of arriving and departing ships also experienced a sharp decline in 2020.
Due to the pandemic, there were only 40,000 passengers, while 2019 was already a historically low year with 311,000 passengers. However, this does not take into account the passengers of cruise ships calling at Belgian ports.
Sea transport (1997-2020)
| Sea transport (1997-2020) | 1997 | 2007 | 2010 | 2015 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arriving ships (a) | 32,248 | 34,043 | 28,812 | 24,806 | 25,726 | 23,679 |
| Departing ships (a) | 30,291 | 35,080 | 29,640 | 25,770 | 26,484 | 24,006 |
| Cargo loaded (x 1,000 t) | 61,856 | 102,365 | 100,794 | 112,468 | 125,914 | 126,387 |
| Cargo unloaded (x 1,000 t) | 100,208 | 134,327 | 125,561 | 128,715 | 151,868 | 142,288 |
| Disembarked passengers (x 1,000)(b) | 925 | 378 | 300 | 177 | 155 | 19 |
| Embarked passengers (x 1,000)(b) | 1,021 | 381 | 310 | 176 | 156 | 21 |
| (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