The port of Antwerp is located on the lower right bank of the Belgian River, with two river tunnels, about 50NMILE from the North Sea in the west, and the Albert Canal in the east through the Maas River, which is a relatively large sea port in Belgium. Founded in the 13th century, it became Europe's first commercial city in 1460 and the commercial and transportation center of northern Europe. At present, it has developed into the second largest port in Europe and one of the world's famous tons of ports. It is the second largest industrial center in Belgium, the main industries are oil refining, chemical, automobile, steel, non-ferrous smelting, machinery, shipbuilding and so on. It is also an important international diamond trading place. The port is about 15KM from the field.
The port of Antwerp has a vast hinterland, with a railway network length of 960km and a road network length of 276.5km, which are connected to the European railway network and the highway network. The port of Antwerp passes through the Scheldt River to the North Sea, and the section of the port site is affected by the tidal range of 4.5 ~ 5m. There are six entrance locks. The existing port area of the Port of Antwerp is mainly distributed on the right bank of the Scheldt River, and most of the dock berths are arranged in the dug harbor basin. By 2000, the total area of the port area and industrial area is 140.55km square meters, with 127.20km of shoreline available, and a total of about 800 wharf berths in Hong Kong. Since 2000, the annual cargo throughput of the port has exceeded 130 million tons, and the container throughput of 4.78 million in 2002, ranking 10th in the world container port. The main imported goods are containers, apatite, ore, petroleum, wood and coal, and the main exported goods are steel, machinery, railway equipment, cement, coke and chemical products.
Natural condition
The harbor has a temperate maritime climate with prevailing northwest winds. Winters are humid and foggy, and summers are cool. The average annual temperature is about 4 degrees Celsius in January and 18 degrees Celsius in July. The average annual rainfall is about 750-900MM, and the tidal range of the Scheldt River is 4.2-4.5m.
Port area distribution and berth status
The Hong Kong pier is divided into two parts along the river and the dock, with six locks connected to the river.
The main pier berths in the port area are as follows:
Pier Type Berths (PCS) Shoreline length (m) Maximum water depth (m)
BULK CARGO 54 13554 15.2
GENERAL CARGO 20 4910 11.6
CONTAINER 36 9210 15.2
OIL QUAY 14 3360 15.8
Storage yard and capacity:
The port facilities are perfect; Grain warehouse capacity 302,000 tons, fertilizer warehouse capacity 730,000 tons, refrigerated warehouse 1.5 million cubic meters.
Handling machinery and capacity:
Loading and unloading equipment has a variety of shore crane, gantry crane, portable container crane, portable bridge crane, grab loading bridge, floating crane, hoist, belt conveyor shutdown and ro-ro facilities, among which the maximum lifting capacity of the floating crane is 800 tons.
Cosco Pacific, a subsidiary of COSCO, has acquired a 25 per cent stake in the port of Antwerp
In 2004, COSCO Pacific acquired a 25% stake in the Belgian port of Antwerp from the UK's Railline Port Terminals (later acquired by Maersk Group), and the management of the port project.
Friendly cooperative relations with our country
The port of Antwerp has a long history of friendly relations with our country. Antwerp and Shanghai are sister cities. The Port of Antwerp has formed a friendship port with Shanghai Port, Dalian Port, Shenzhen Port, Qingdao Port and Guangzhou Port, and has established a close cooperation relationship with Ningbo Port.
