A report issued by Damietta Port Authority (DPA) showed an increase of 15.3% in the number of ships on the port in September 2017 compared to September 2016. According to the report, the number of ships on the docked at Damietta port increased to 226 in September compared to 196 ship during the same month in 2016. The number of general cargo ships increased by 48.7% in September, increasing from 39 in September 2016 to 58 in September this year, and in vessels of special nature, which increased by 66.5% According to the report, the volume of cargo handled at the port increased by 27% compared to the same period of 2016. The volume of cargo handled by the port reached 3.1 million tonnes in September compared to 2.4 million tonnes in September of 2016. The report showed a clear growth in exports of general cargo by 15% during September compared to the same period of 2016. The volume of exported goods increased from 423,300 tonnes in September last year to reach 488,000 tonnes in September 2017, an increase of 64,600 tonnes, supported by increased quantities of exported fertilizer. According to DPA's report, the number of containers handled through the port increased by 76.2% compared to September 2016. The number of containers handled at the port increased from 50,700 TEUs in September last year to reach 89,400 containers in September 2017. DPA report revealed that the number of vessels received by the port during 2016 increased by 8% since 2015. The number of vessels increased from 2,357 vessels in 2015 to 2,562 vessels during 2016. The report attributed the apparent increase to the increased number of dry bulk ships by 46% with an increase of 472 vessels during 2015 to reach 690 ships in 2016. The increase in the amount of exported methanol was 371.5%. Exported quantities of methanol rose from 117,100 tonnes in 2015 to 552,200 tonnes in 2016. The exported amounts of fertiliser have increased from 1m tonnes in 2015 to 2.1m tonnes during 2016, an increase of 179%. The size of containers increased during the past year compared to 2015 by 12.6%, and registered an increase from 719,500 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in 2015 to reach 810,300 TEUs during the past year.
