Port of Antwerp, the second-largest port of Europe, is expecting fewer ships to dock from Asia due to the ongoing coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak. 

In a statement, it said 15 fewer ships from Asia will call at the port of Antwerp in the coming weeks due to the corona outbreak on top of the number of departures usually omitted at this time of year due to the Chinese New Year.

Port of Antwerp said this corresponds to 115,000 TEU (standard containers) less of container traffic to and from China.

China is Port of Antwerp's second-largest trading partner after the USA

Too early to assess impact

The Port said it is still too early to estimate the impact on the trade volume from the rest of the world.

"The large degree of uncertainty about the spread of the coronavirus makes it difficult to estimate the economic impact on the Port of Antwerp," it said.

"Since the outbreak is no longer limited to China this will have an effect on the world economy," it added.

Meanwhile, the Port of Antwerp said in its statement that it will keep the port fully operational to support the various areas relying on it for supply.

"As the main engine of the Belgian economy, Port of Antwerp is essential to keep Flanders and Belgium supplied. We are therefore doing everything necessary to guarantee good operation of the port," it said.

The Port further said that it is working actively to prevent further spread of the coronavirus and constantly following the advice of the WHO, EU and Federal Government Departments of Health (Saniport) and Mobility.