Total traffic through Zeebrugge port rose by 6.6 percent to 26.67 million tons in the first nine months of 1999. At the end of the year it expected total traffic to rise to 35 million tons versus 33.4 million tons in 1998. "On the basis of these interim figures we can see that 1999 will be an
absolute record year," port management said in a statement, noting that traffic rose by more than 20 percent over the past three years.
Port management said that while RoRo traffic posted the least growth in the first nine months of 1999 there were signs of a pick-up due to an improvement in the British economy. New car shipments grew strongly, rising by 114,000 tons to 661,000 since January. Shipments were seen rising to over one million by the end of the year.