The Port of Antwerp is expected to handle a record 200million tonnes of freight in 2015, beating the 199million tonnes of cargo handled in 2014.
The 2014 result was in turn a 4.3% increase over the previous year.
Antwerp also reported breaking further port records for transhipment cargo at 9million TEUs.
The news represents an increase of 8% in transhipment cargo, and comes in spite of poor results in container trades throughout the year in a market rife with overcapacity.
As a result, the Port authority claims, Antwerp will outperform competitors Rotterdam and Hamburg, the number 1 and 3 ports respectively in North-West Europe.
The Port introduced measures to incentivise use of low-sulphur fuels by cutting port dues as much as 30% for vessels using LNG as fuel.
Antwerp also undertook its first LNG bunkering operation on a seagoing vessel, by Chemgas Shipping-owned Sefarina, back in September.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.