zoomImage Courtesy: Damietta Port Authority

Egypt’s Damietta Port recorded an increase in its total cargo volumes by 22 percent in the first half of 2016, compared with the same period last year.

Volumes of handled cargo reached 16.5 million tons in the first half of the year, compared to 13.5 million tons during the same period in 2015.

Furthermore, the port saw an increase in the vessels and cargo traffic as it received 1,346 ships during the six-month period, representing a rise of over 14 percent, against 1,177 ships handled during the first half of 2015, the report released by the Damieta Port Authority shows.

There were more container vessels at the port during the period. Namely, over 14 percent more boxships arrived at the port, reaching a number of 592. Also, there was a surge of almost 50 percent in dry bulk ships arriving to the port. While liquid bulk ship numbers stayed the same, the port saw a drop of 3.6 percent in general cargo vessels.

Due to the increase in container vessels at Damietta, the port also saw a surge of 22 percent in its container throughput in the first half of 2016, as the total containerized volumes amounted to 444,098 TEUs, compared to 363,336 TEUs handled during the first six months of 2015.

Covering a total area of 11.8 square kilometers, Damietta Port is located 70 kilometers westwards from the Port Said and 200 kilometers eastwards from the Alexandria Port, the two major ports in Egypt.