Antwerp’s port sees a rise in container ship traffic in January

Port congestion was rising in Western Europe early Friday as the combined anchorage areas for Antwerp-Zeebrugge saw the highest container vessel count in about nine months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

There were at least 50 container carriers in Belgian waters, with most either loading or waiting to enter Europe’s second-largest container hub, according to marine traffic data that Bloomberg has compiled since April. The median count for Antwerp-Zeebrugge was 36 from April to January.

Rotterdam, Antwerp’s neighbor and the largest container gateway in Europe, received a record amount of containers in 2021 with port officials expecting traffic to remain elevated this year.