Rotterdam port's container throughput increased one per cent year on year to 5.9 million TEU in the first half, but overall cargo volume fell 0.9 per cent fell to 219.7 million tonnes in the same period.

The port blamed the drop on feeder diversion from the Baltic to north German ports as well as overcapacity in the container shipping industry.

The Dutch port's container segment experienced a decrease of two per cent in the number of tonnes handled. The facility handled 5.9 million TEU compared with 5.86 million TEU in the first half of 2012, with the number of empties surging to 1.9 million TEU from 991,000 TEU.

First half container throughput decreased 0.9 per cent to 219.7 million tonnes, largely because of the 8.7 per cent drop in crude oil shipments to 46.2 million.