Port of Dunkirk stresses multimodality
More multimodal transports in Dunkirk: In total, the share of alternative modes to road in 2019 amounted to 65% of land-based traffic to and from the French port.
Inland shipping increased by 200,000 t, driven by the resumption of grain exports in the second half of 2019, but also by the performance of container traffic handled by Nord Port Shuttle (NPS) on the Dunkirk - Lille - Dourges – Valenciennes route.
Nevertheless, rail traffic, handicapped by a difficult end of the year, fell by 100,000 t. Under the effect of the increase in traffic by pipe, the river and rail modes now show respective shares of 11 and 20% (12 and 29% in 2018). 2019 was marked by strong activity at the Dunkirk LNG terminal.
The 72 LNG tanker calls recorded during the year thus generated traffic of 5.1 million t. The growth of more than 317% in gas volumes naturally upset the modal split of the port. Transport by pipeline thus reached 34% of the port's land routes, an increase of 23 points compared to the previous year. (mw)