Belgium

Thanks to its central location and its large storage and distribution capacity, the Port of Antwerp can be regarded as a key gateway to Europe. Concerning international maritime transport, Antwerp is ranked as the second harbor of Europe and the seventh harbor worldwide. The Port of Antwerp is the European market leader in terms of the transportation of steel, fruit, forest products, coffee, tobacco, and other products. In 2009, it dealt with almost 160 million tons of goods. Each year, over 14,000 sea-going vessels and 55,000 inland navigation vessels are passing through the Port of Antwerp. As nearly every important European consumption and production center can be reached easily by train, vessel or truck from the Port of Antwerp, it is considered to be a crucial player in the international trade business. Over the centuries, the Port area has grown to exactly 13,057 hectares, or about 20,000 soccer fields.