DUNKERQUE-PORT: April 17, 2019. After an exceptional March that saw a throughput of 5.22 million tonnes, Dunkerque-Port closed Q1 2019 with a five percent increase in traffic year-on-year.

The port said it was approaching its historic monthly record of 5.29 million tonnes recorded in April 2008.

LNG volumes contributed to the Q1 result with traffic at 1.25 million by the end of March - equal to the whole of 2018 - as a result of 18 port calls by LNG carriers in the first three months of the year.

Gain volumes are also increasing with accumulated traffic of 0.5 million tonnes - up 45 percent over the previous year - as small industrial bulk goods rose 21 percent in the period year-on-year.

Dunkerque also reports a 17 percent rise in Q1 container traffic as the Terminal des Flandres handled a record 5,700 TEUs by the CMA CGM MV Bleriot in early March.

Emmanuelle Verger, recently appointed chair of the port’s supervisory board commented: "The current results of Dunkerque-Port validate the new economic model for which significant investments were made throughout the 2014-2018 Strategic Project.

“The LNG terminal, inaugurated in January 2017, is gaining momentum. The new industrial sites that have started up in recent years are boosting trade in solid bulk. The increase in container traffic, which has been on-going since 2013, is expected to continue with the imminent start-up of the new berth in the container terminal," she added.