A report issued by the Damietta Port Authority showed a growth ratio of 6.3% in the number of docked vessels during January 2017 compared to January 2016. According to the report, their number increased in January to 220 ships, compared to 207 in the same period in 2016. The size of traded cargo at the port during January increased by 37% compared to January 2016, reaching 3.06 million tonnes in January, compared to 2.2 million tonnes in January 2016. The report showed an increase in exports of general cargo by 74% in January, while the size of exported goods increased from 390,100 tonnes in January 2016 to 674,500 tonnes in January this year—an increase of 284,400 tonnes—supported by the increase in the exported quantities of methanol, fertilisers, and molasses. According to the report, the figure for twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) increased by 31.4% compared to January 2016, with the number of TEUs increasing from 66,800 to 87,800 TEUs. The port authority furthermore revealed that the number of vessels received by the port during 2016 went up by 8% from 2015, increasing from 2,357 to 2,562 vessels. The report attributed the increase to the higher number of dry bulk ships that went up by 46%, an increase from 472 to 690 vessels. The increase in the amount of exported methanol was 371.5%. Exported quantities of methanol rose from 117,100 tonnes in 2015 to 552,200 tonnes in 2016. The exported amounts of fertilisers have likewise increased, from 1 million tonnes in 2015 to 2.1 million tonnes during 2016, an increase of 179%. The number of containers also increased during the past year—compared to 2015—by 12.6% and registered an increase from 719,500 to 810,300 TEUs.
