The port of UK‘s capital London reported a[ds_preview] throughput of 50.4 mill. t in 2016, marking the highest volumes since 2008.
Trade in the Port of London rose 10%, the Port of London Authority (PLA) announced. It said, the strong performance reflects continued growth at terminals along the Thames. The volumes of oil, containers and building materials all rose markedly. Prior to 2016, port throughput had been increasing at between two to three percent, year-on-year.
PLA chief executive, Robin Mortimer said: »Our long term Vision is for 60 to 80 mill. t of cargo to be traded every year – more than at any time in the Thames‘ history. Passing 50 million tonnes in 2016 is a major milestone towards this goal.«
The Port of London comprises over 70 terminals and port facilities at different locations on the Thames, handling a wide range of cargoes.
Growth was principally in oil trades which rose by 22% from 10.9 mill. t in 2015 to 13.3 mill. t in 2016. Containers and trailers (unitised traffic) was up 7% to 18 mill. t; aggregates and cement increased again from 10.7 mill. t (16%) up to 12.4 mill. t. Cereal volumes also increased by 15% to 1 mill. t, according to the PLA.
The authority emphasized, that 2016 saw the first cargoes delivered to the Thames Oil Port, the former Coryton oil refinery site now redeveloped as a fuel terminal. At the Port of Tilbury, a new chilled store for NFT was opened and the acquisition of land for port expansion was completed.
