#belfastlough - A record 24.6 million tonnes of cargo was handled in Belfast Harbour last year thanks to a major increase in the number of freight vehicles passing through the port, which rose to a high of 532,000, latest figures show.
Trade at the port,reports The Irish Times, increased by more than 900,000 tonnes during 2018, as the total number of freight vehicles using Stena Line, which introduced a third larger ship on the Belfast to Liverpool route, grew 3 per cent.
The transport company has confirmed that two of its new E-Flexer RoPax vessels, which are currently under construction in China, will operate on the Belfast to Liverpool route from next year and in 2021.
The latest trading report from Belfast Harbour shows imports and exports of industrial coal by the Cookstown-based solid fuel importer and distributor LCC grew more than 37 per cent to more than one million tonnes during 2018.
LCC imports industrial coal into the North and then processes it at its Belfast plant before exporting it worldwide for use in the steel and alloy sectors.
For more on the figures including those for animal feeds, ferry and cruise sectors click here.
