Sines Port records 2% decrease in container handling in H1

  • Lusa
  • 4 August 2020

The Port of Sines Administration explains that the first quarter of 2020 was quite positive in the segment of containers, the second quarter was affected by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Port of Sines resisted the trend of sharp falls in overall container handling, registering an accumulated decrease of 2% in the first six months of this year.

In a statement released on Monday, the Port of Sines Administration (APS) explains that the first quarter of 2020 was quite positive in the segment of containers, the second quarter was affected by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the world economy.

According to APS, the prospects for the second half of 2020 are for the maintenance of previous year’s volumes in the overall cargo segment, particularly containerised cargo, and the continued reduction in the movement of fossil fuels.

The first half of this year confirmed the trend towards a reduction in the movement of fossil fuels through the port, in line with the challenges posed by the European Ecological Pact.

“With the stoppage of the national thermoelectric plants, the Port of Sines stopped handling almost 2 million tonnes of coal, in comparison with the previous semester,” the port administration said.

Also the reduction in crude oil handling due to the decrease in demand for fuels (gasoline and diesel), in the context of the confinement due to the pandemic, had an impact of almost 1 million tonnes in the handling of liquid bulk, with Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) maintaining the handling levels of the previous semester”.

Regarding the overall cargo segment, in which containerised cargo is included, handling remained practically unchanged, the company said.

“In the first half of 2020, the three freight segments as a whole registered a reduction of 12.7% in relation to the same period of the previous year,” the administration said.