Danube ports handling a rising volumes of water-borne cargo
In 2017, the total throughput of water-borne cargo in the ports and moorings on the Austrian section of the Danube increased by 0.5 million tonnes or 6.5 per cent to 8 million tonnes. With more than 2.5 million tonnes, ores and scrap metal were the most frequently handled goods group. Petroleum products followed with more than 1.5 million tonnes.
At 4.2 million tonnes, the volume of goods handled at the Linz ports was 6.4 per cent up on the previous year (4 million tonnes). At 1.1 million tonnes, the volume of water-borne cargo handled in Vienna’s ports was up 5.8 per cent. In the port of Enns, throughput of water-borne cargo increased by 13.1 per cent to 0.7 million tonnes, and by 15 per cent to 0.5 million tonnes in the port of Krems. All other ports and piers came to 1.4 million tonnes, a slight increase of 1.8 per cent over 2016.
Handling of water-borne cargo in the Austrian Danube ports and moorings in 2017
| Port or mooring | Tonnes | |
| Loaded | Unloaded | |
| 2017 | ||
| Port of Vienna | 795.977 | 333.272 |
| Linz ports | 1.398.791 | 2.849.884 |
| Port of Krems | 145.047 | 392.440 |
| Port of Enns | 174.914 | 499.520 |
| Other ports and moorings | 255.193 | 1.136.263 |
| Total | 2.769.922 | 5.211.379 |
At the nine Austrian locks, a total of 76,334 freight ships (of which 26,946 were empty, 0.7 per cent less compared to the previous year) were handled in 2017, representing an increase of 1 per cent over the previous year. The number of passenger ships going though the locks increased year-on-year by 5.6 per cent to 44,020.