- Apart from Ghent, London plays another important role as a region of unloading, as all cargos heading towards the UK are unloaded in and around London, and have as regions of origin Ghent, the south-western part of the Netherlands (region of Zeeuwsch-Vlaanderen), and the Lower Rhine (Duisburg and Wesel in Germany as well as Arnheim and Nijmwegen in the Netherlands).
- The Dutch regions of unloading are mostly in the west (region of Groot Rijnmoond) and the southwest (region of Zeeuwsch-Vlaanderen), main location of origins being the German Lower Rhine, the Romanian Lower Danube and London in the UK.
- The Lower Danube also plays an important role, as 30% of river-sea cargos registered in the Netherlands come from Romania, and are unloaded mostly in Ghent in Belgium, and to a lesser extent also in Zeeuwsch-Vlaanderen, in the south-western part of the Netherlands.
FIGURE 11: COUNTRIES OF LOADING WITHIN RIVER-SEA TRAFFIC IN THE NETHERLANDS (MIO. T) IN 2018
Source: CCNR analysis based on data from Rijkswaterstaat
- The cargo that is loaded in Belgium comes almost entirely (> 99 %) from Ghent and goes mainly to London in the UK and to the Lower Danube in Romania.
FIGURE 12: RIVER-SEA-TRANSPORT IN THE NETHERLANDS BY TYPE OF TRANSPORT IN 2018 (IN %)
Source: CCNR analysis based on Rijkswaterstaat
- Due to the important role of the port of Ghent as port of loading and unloading of river-sea cargo, the structure of Dutch river-sea traffic is quite different compared to other countries. Indeed, 68.6 % is transit traffic, with Dutch territory as an intermediary between origin and destination of river-sea-ships. Another 14.7 % is export traffic, 11.5 % is import and 5.2 % is national traffic.
Transport by type of good
- Iron and steel is the most important segment, amounting to 1.38 million tonnes. The most important regions of loading for iron and steel are Ghent (0.67 million tonnes), Duisburg (0.26 million tonnes), and other regions of the Lower Rhine (Wesel: 0.05 million tonnes; Düsseldorf: 0.03 million tonnes). This result reflects the presence of large steel works in the port of Ghent (Arcelor Mittal) and in Duisburg (ThyssenKrupp). Large parts of the steel exports from Duisburg via the Netherlands have as destination the UK, and this confirms the findings of the chapter on Germany, as well as the Dutch region Groot-Rijnmoond near the North Sea.
- A large part of the steel exports from Ghent also go to the UK, in particular to London (0.325 million tonnes), but also to the Lower Danube in Romania (0.298 million tonnes) and to Ruse in Bulgaria (0.04 million tonnes).
FIGURE 13: RIVER-SEA TRANSPORT IN THE NETHERLANDS ACCORDING TO GOODS SEGMENTS (MIO. T) IN 2018
Source: CCNR analysis based on Rijkswaterstaat
RIVER-SEA TRANSPORT IN BELGIUM
Definitions and waterway areas
- In the data for Belgium, river-sea transport is indicated via the vessel type that is used for the journey (if a seagoing ship is used, this points to river-sea traffic), and also by the country of loading and unloading of the cargo.
- In Belgium, river-sea transport takes place mainly on the following waterways: the Albert Canal, Zeekanaal Brussels – Schelde (Escaut), the Ghent-Terneuzen Canal and the Schelde river.
Transport by origin and destination
- The river-sea transport of Belgium has a far higher share of national traffic than does Germany. This is attributed to container traffic, which, on a multi-annual basis, accounts for two-thirds of all national river-sea traffic in Belgium. This pattern can be explained by the different geography of Belgium compared to Germany, the broad estuary of the Schelde river downstream of Antwerp allowing seagoing ships to go inland and transport different kinds of goods, including containers. However, national river-sea traffic performed by seagoing ships has followed a downward trend in recent years.
FIGURE 14: RIVER-SEA TRANSPORT IN BELGIUM BY TYPE OF TRANSPORT (MIO. T)
Source: CCNR analysis based on Statbel
- In the years 2011-2017, the cargo volume transported by river-sea traffic varied between 2 and 3 million tonnes per year. This number includes transport by seagoing ships that cross into inland waterways. This transport by seagoing ships can be identified within the Belgian IWW statistics.
- In Belgium, there exist inland vessels which partly cross into maritime waters, known as estuary traffic. However, according to the Belgian statistical office (Statbel), this type of river-sea traffic by estuary vessels is currently not identified within the IWW statistics.
- In looking at the countries of loading and unloading, it can be seen that Great Britain is the most important trading partner for Belgium for river-sea transport (with a 32% share). This is followed by Spain (20%), Norway (12%) and Morocco (9%).
FIGURE 15: EXPORT AND IMPORT RIVER-SEA TRANSPORT IN BELGIUM BY TRADING PARTNER (2017)
Source: CCNR analysis based on Statbel
- With regard to trade with Great Britain, the export side plays a larger role than the import side. In 2017, total exports from Belgium to the UK amounted to 0.34 million tonnes and total imports around 0.1 million tonnes. Export traffic consists mainly of iron and steel. Related volumes amounted to 0.24 million tonnes in 2017.
- Regarding trade with Spain, iron and steel products represent also (by far) the majority of goods. Iron and steel are both imported by Belgium from Spain, and also exported to Spain. Belgium also imported wood and wood products from Spain in 2017.
- Trade with Norway is mainly import-related, and consists of sands, stones, gravel, as well as iron and steel. The transport relations with Morocco are purely import traffic and consist mainly of basic chemicals that are transported from Morocco to Belgium.
Transport by type of good
- As it is the case of Germany, iron and steel has the highest overall share of all goods segments in river-sea transport. Goods in containers, in second place, are mainly transported in the form of national river-sea traffic (where the country of loading and of unloading is in both cases Belgium).
- In 2017, container traffic accounted for two-thirds of all national river-sea transport. Mineral oil products and chemicals made up another 19% of national river-sea transport.
FIGURE 16: RIVER-SEA TRANSPORT IN BELGIUM BY TYPE OF GOODS (2017)
Source: CCNR analysis based on Statbel
- Chemicals, which have a 9% share, are almost entirely imported from only one country, that is Morocco. The associated volume of transport is indeed quite high, with more than 120,000 tonnes per year. In considering all the traded goods and the countries of loading, it is clear that this transport of chemicals from Morocco to Belgium by river-sea shipping was the most significant (in terms of volumes) river-sea transport activity with regard to Belgium’s imported goods in 2017.
Some features about river-sea transport at the port of Liège
- Around 100 river-sea ships arrive in Liège every year, mainly via Antwerp and the Albert Canal, representing about 1% of the port calls, and sailing mainly under Dutch or Antiguan and Barbudan flags. They have to deal with shallow draughts and bridge clearance on the Albert Canal. The tonnage of the units calling at the port of Liège is generally between 1,500 and 2,500 gross registered tonnage. The total river-sea goods traffic at the Port of Liège varies between 200-250 thousand tonnes on a yearly basis. This traffic consists mainly of Arcelor-Mittal steel exported towards the UK and Ireland.
- At the port of Liège, this type of traffic is highly dependent on the European automotive market. Tonnages have increased slightly in recent years. This traffic has become highly specialised over the years due to its complexity, as shipowners must have the ships that provide the ideal yield on the route to be covered with a crew that is familiar with the various navigation regulations.
RIVER-SEA TRANSPORT IN FINLAND
Definitions and waterway areas
- Inland waterway traffic in Finland is concentrated in the Saimaa region. Saimaa inland waterways can be reached only by passing through the Saimaa Canal area as this is the only part of Finland with inland waterway goods transport. The Saimaa Canal is therefore the only inland waterway connection to the sea, which is vital for the area. This canal allows seagoing ships that operate in the Saimaa waterways to transport goods in the whole of Europe, including Russia, and sometimes quite far into the hinterland (France, Germany and the UK), without transhipment. This type of transport therefore qualifies as river-sea transport according to the Eurostat definition. All the traffic going through the Saimaa Canal can therefore be considered as river-sea transport. It should be noted that this type of transport is referred to as lake-sea shipping by Finnish stakeholders.
- River-sea transport through the Saimaa Canal can be divided into three categories:
– Cross-border traffic: imports and exports
– Domestic traffic: traffic through the Saimaa Canal from an inland port in the Saimaa region to the Finnish coast or vice versa
– Timber floating (only until 1992)
Source: The Saimaa inland waterway, EMMA project, Traficom
- The travel time of river-sea ships from northern Saimaa to seaports in Central Europe is 4-5 days. The most important inland ports of arrival and/or departure of river-sea traffic going through the Saimaa Canal are the ports of Imatra, Lappeenranta and Joensuu.
Transport by origin and destination
- River-sea traffic through the Saimaa Canal increased from 1971 to reach a peak in 2004 (approximately 2.4 million tonnes). It then followed a decreasing trend until 2016, the lowest volumes of river-sea traffic being reached in 2009 during the global financial crisis. Volumes of river-sea traffic increased between 2016 and 2017 (+ 6%) and again in 2018 (+ 2.5%; 1.3 million tonnes).
- Ninety four percent of river-sea transport operations in Finland are international transport operations (1.23 million tonnes). Domestic traffic accounted for 0.07 million tonnes. While domestic and export river-sea transport have remained rather stable over the last 10 years, imports of goods transported via river-sea transport fluctuate more.
FIGURE 17: RIVER-SEA GOODS TRAFFIC BY TYPE OF TRANSPORT IN FINLAND 2010-2018 (IN 1,000 TONNES)*
Source: CCNR analysis based on Traficom* total river-sea transport data in Finland through the Saimaa Canal include river-sea journeys performed by Russian inland vessels which do not have an IMO number but whose characteristics are similar to seagoing ships.
- The most important trading partners of Finland in relation to river-sea goods transport are Russia, the Netherlands, Estonia and Germany.
FIGURE 18: RIVER-SEA GOODS TRANSPORT BETWEEN FINLAND AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES 2001-2018 (IN 1,000 TONNES)*
Source: CCNR analysis based on Traficom* through the Saimaa Canal
Transport by type of good
- In 2018, the main goods segments transported via river-sea transport were timber (45%), raw minerals (28%) and forest industry products (13%).
FIGURE 19: RIVERSEA GOODS TRANSPORT BY TYPE OF GOODS IN 2018 (IN 1,000 TONNES)
Source: CCNR analysis based on Traficom
FIGURE 20: EVOLUTION OF RIVER-SEA TRANSPORT IN FINLAND BY TYPE OF GOODS 2012-2018 (IN 1,000 TONNES)*
Source: CCNR analysis based on Traficom* (through the Saimaa Canal)
