The container activity at Port of Beirut (PoB) witnessed solid growth in the first half of 2014. The number of containers reached 610,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), growing by nine percent, compared to this same period the year before.
 
This increase was due to the surge of transshipment activity, which went up 23 percent.
 
Elie Zakhour, Chairman of the International Chamber of Navigation (ICN), said: “CMA CGM was handling transshipment of containers that were meant to settle in Port Said. Because it was shut down at that time, the containers were moved to Port of Beirut.” Regardless of this event, Zakhour said, the number of containers has been growing at the port.

The volume of goods also grew by four percent to 4.2 million tons. The number of vessels fell by five percent to one thousand. However, this fall is attributed to the entrance of larger sized ships which carry more goods and make lesser trips.

The revenues of PoB were stable at $105 million, less than one percent down compared to the same period of last year. An increase in revenues is usually caused by higher imports to the local market, which only went up two percent.

The number of imported vehicles went down by three percent to 44,590. The sharpest drop of 38 percent is recorded for the number of passengers. Only 763 individuals were transported by sea until June.

At the Port of Tripoli (PoT), the total number of vessels reached 224, down by 16 percent. The volume of goods totaled 558,000 tons, down by 23 percent. Revenues reached $5 million, dropping by 12 percent y-o-y. This overall drop in the port activity is attributed, according to forwarders, to the series of military clashes that took place in the city during the first months of the year.