The port of Hong Kong handled 5.8 million TEUs (20-foot-equivalent units) of containers in the third quarter of this year, up 9 percent over a year earlier.

According to a government press release Friday, in the same period, cargo-carrying inward containers rose 16 percent to 2.2 million TEUs while outward-bound ones rose 4 percent over a year earlier, to 2.4 million TEUs.

For the first nine months of 2004, the port of Hong Kong handled 16.4 million TEUs, up 9 percent over a year earlier.

In the third quarter, total port cargo throughput increased 6 percent over a year earlier, to 55.1 million tons.

In the first nine months of 2004, total port cargo throughput increased 9 percent to 165.9 million tons over the same period in 2003. Within this total, inward port cargo was up 8 percent to 102.2 million tons, while outward port cargo rose 10 percent to 63.7 million tons.

In the third quarter, the number of ocean vessel arrivals fell 1 percent over a year earlier to 8,860, with the total capacity recording virtually no change, at 76.3 million net registered tons.

However, river vessel arrivals rose 6 percent in number to 48,430, with the total capacity rising 9 percent to 23.5 million net registered tons over the same period.

In the first nine months of 2004, the number of ocean vessel arrivals recorded virtually no change over a year earlier to 26,520, with the total capacity increasing 4 percent to 230.4 million net registered tons.

Source: Xinhua