Belfast Harbour had its busiest ever year for ferry freight in 2024 as the volume of containers travelling through the port stabilised after a pandemic-related boom in 2021 and subsequent decline.
On Tuesday, the harbour operator, part of the Trust Port network and operated as an independent statutory body, said some 24.1 million tonnes of goods were handled by the port in 2024, up from 23.9 million in 2023. This was down from a record 25.9 million tonnes in 2021 as global trade recovered from the initial shock of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Still, the volume of roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) freight – wheeled cargo driven directly on to ferries – that travelled through the port, where Stena Line is the main operator, increased to 617,000 freight equivalent units in 2024. This surpassed the previous record of 610,000 units in 2023.
Container volumes grew 3 per cent from 2023 to 124,000, which the harbour operator described as a “positive outcome” after two years of lower volumes that followed the pandemic-induced boom in 2021 when 131,000 container units travelled through the port.
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Passenger volumes, meanwhile, were stable at 1.7 million passengers with 500,000 cars travelling in and out of Belfast Harbour.
The harbour also welcomed 60 cruise ships, up from 54 in 2023, bringing an estimated 260,000 passengers and crew to the city. Belfast Harbour said it estimates cruise tourism is worth between £20 million (€24 million) and £25 million to the regional economy annually.
“The results for 2024 show that trade through Belfast Harbour remains resilient and that the Port community has continued to transport people and deliver the goods and services relied on by communities and businesses in the region,” said Belfast Harbour port director Michael Robinson.
“Like every business, we are mindful of the challenges in the economy, which have affected both our customers and our own operations.
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“It is very pleasing to note that despite these challenges, RoRo traffic volumes and the number of passengers travelling to and from Northern Ireland reached new record levels and other categories continued to perform strongly, demonstrating the important role that Belfast Harbour plays in keeping daily life moving.”
Stena Line trade director Paul Grant said 2024 was a record year for the company’s freight volumes on its Belfast routes to Cairnryan in Scotland and Liverpool and Heysham in England.
The company has invested in two NewMax vessels, which are set to increase freight capacity on the Belfast-Heysham line by 40 per cent. One of the vessels, the Stena Futura, will enter service in autumn 2025 while a keel-laying ceremony took place for the other vessel, the Stena Connecta, last October in China.
