Total port cargo throughput rose to 62.6 million tonnes in this year's first quarter, up 14% on the same period last year. Inward and outward port cargo rose 12% and 17%, to 36.3 million tonnes and 26.3 million tonnes.

A Census & Statistics Department survey found that on a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter comparison, total port cargo throughput grew 4%, with inward and outward port cargo up 2% and 7%. Seaborne and river cargo grew 15% and 12%, to 45 million tonnes and 17.6 million tonnes.

For inward port cargo, imports and inward transhipment rose 10% and 14%, to 19.1 million tonnes and 17.1 million tonnes. For outward port cargo, exports and outward transhipment rose 22% and 14%, to 9.3 million tonnes and 17 million tonnes.

5.8m containers handled

Hong Kong's port handled 5.8 million containers in the first quarter, up 7% on a year earlier, with laden containers up 8% to 4.8 million, and empty containers virtually unchanged at 900,000.

Among laden containers, inward and outward containers grew 9% and 7%, to 2.4 million and 2.5 million.

On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter comparison, laden container throughput grew 1% in the first quarter, with inward laden containers virtually unchanged and outward ones up 3%. Seaborne laden containers rose 10%, to 3.6 million, while river laden containers grew 4%, to 1.2 million.

Within inward laden containers, imports dipped 1%, to 800,000 containers, while inward transhipment rose 15%, to 1.5 million containers. For outward laden containers, exports fell 4%, to 900,000 containers, while outward transhipment rose 15%, to 1.6 million containers.

In the first quarter, ocean-vessel arrivals recorded virtually no change over a year earlier at 9,490, with total capacity up 14%, to 99.7 million net registered tons. River-vessel arrivals rose 2%, to 46,360, with the total capacity down 8%, to 25 million net registered tons.