Maritime transport suffers slight decline

TIRANA, Dec. 3 – Both the passenger traffic and volume of goods handled in Albania’s main four ports registered a slight decline in 2012, reflecting the crisis impacts in the air and maritime transport, according to data by the Institute of Transport.
The Durres Port, the country’s biggest, handled around three-quarters of the passenger traffic and around 90 percent of imports and exports in 2012.
The three Albanian ports involved in passenger transport, the ports of Durres, Vlora, and Saranda handled 1.1 million passengers in 2012, around 65,000 fewer than in 2011. Since 2011, the Shengjin Port has not been handling passengers, reports the Institute.
The volume of imports and exports handled in the four Albanian ports also registered a slight decline in 2012 when it dropped to around 4 million tonnes, down 2.5 percent compared to the 2011.