It said it handled 190.8m tonnes last year, up 3.6% from 2012.

Oil cargoes were the main driver of growth, it said, rising 31.4% to 59.5m tonnes. Crude volumes jumped 83.4% to 4.68m tonnes.

But container volumes dipped 0.7% at 8.57m teu as a result of the continuing recession, it added.

Bulker cargoes fell 24.8% to 14.37m tonnes, mainly due to a reduction in coal volumes, down 62% to 2.17m