Figures released by the Flemish bureau of statistics Statistiek Vlaanderen show that a total of 321 million tonnes of freight passed through our region’s seaports during 2022. This is a slight fall on total freight tonnage through our ports during 2021.
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2022 saw slight fall in freight tonnage through Flemish seaports
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Last year Flanders' two biggest ports Antwerp and Zeebrugge (West Flanders) merged to form the the Port of Antwerp-Bruges. This means that traffic through both ports is now counted together. The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is by far the biggest and busiest of our region’s ports account for 287 (-1% on 2021) million tonnes of freight last year. This is around 89% of the total tonnage that passed through all seaports in our region.
Ghent
At the end of 2017 the Port of Ghent merged with Zeeland Seaports (the Dutch ports of Terneuzen and Vlissingen) to form the North Sea Port. The Ghent part of North Sea Port has since been known as North Sea Port Flanders. 2022 was a good year for North Sea Port Flanders with tonnage up by 5% on 2021.
Ostend
Ostend (West Flanders) is the smallest of Flanders’ four seaports. Tonnage through Ostend has been falling since 2008. In recent years the port has increasingly become a distribution centre for the construction and maintenance of offshore wind farms in the North Sea.
While containers form the bulk of traffic through Antwerp and Zeebrugge, bulk cargo shipments form the lion’s share of tonnage through the ports at Ghent and Ostend.