Activity on Lebanon’s main port continued to defy economic conditions, and sustained 2013’s increase, where total container activity including transshipment jumped by an annual 8.33% to 1,210,41 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). Transshipment was the main reason behind this increase, swelling by 24.11% to 445,886 TEU, after Port of Beirut (PoB) became the alternative hub for other ports in troubled countries.
Hence, CMA CGM’s transshipment volume grew by 37.17% y-o-y to 186,430 TEU. Likewise, that of MSC also increased, by 18.80% to 242,554 TEU.
However, container activity excluding transshipment, i.e destined to the local market, remained flattish, edging up by 0.85% y-o-y to 764,527 TEU.
Regarding imported and exported goods through the maritime harbor, total volume of merchandise added 0.15% to 8.28M tons. Imported cars decreased by 1.31% to 91,761 cars, by December.
The number of vessels docked at the country’s main port plunged by 7.19% y-o-y to 1,962 vessels.
Collected revenues from PoB revenues shrank 3.75% to settle at $210.89M by end of 2014.