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The Port of Beirut is Lebanon’s main gateway for goods. Covering over 1.2 square kilometers with its four basins, it handles approximately 1.3 million containers each year using 16 cranes and 39 gantries.
The Port of Beirut is one of the top ten Mediterranean ones and serves as a vital gateway to the Middle East. Using auto-financing, the port evolved from a local facility into a regional hub and transshipment center for the area. Covering 1.2 square kilometers in the heart of the Lebanese capital, it is equipped with 16 large cranes capable of servicing container ships. Since March 2022, the French shipping company CMA CGM has managed the container terminal at the port. It connects over fifty maritime routes, connecting Europe, China, North Africa, and the Middle East.
The port serves as a key transit hub for shipping goods to Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and the Gulf countries. Before the August 4, 2020 explosion, it managed approximately 70% of Lebanon’s commercial trade. Its container terminal, unaffected by the blast, generates the primary source of revenue which ensures its self-financing.
Additionally, 80% of the cereals consumed in Lebanon pass through its docks. The grain silos, once a point of Lebanese pride and capable of storing over 120,000 tons of cereals, were destroyed in the explosion.
Before the 2020 explosion, the Port of Beirut was one of the most significant and busiest ports in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Port Performance: Before and After the Crisis
The Port of Beirut’s overall performance has fallen below pre-crisis and pre-explosion levels, particularly due to disruptions in maritime traffic caused by the Gaza war and the Red Sea crisis.
In the first quarter of 2024, the Port of Beirut handled 1.3 million tons of cargo, up 2.4% from the 1.27 million tons in the same period of 2023, according to port figures. Imported cargo totaled 1.1 million tons, a 4.1% increase over the 1.06 million tons from the previous year, and made up 84.8% of the total cargo handled. This information was reported by Lebanon This Week, published by the Byblos Bank Group.
Revenues are estimated at approximately $150 million, reflecting a 28% decrease compared to 2019 levels, according to sources at the Port of Beirut.
In the first quarter of 2024, the Port of Beirut handled 198,000 tons of exports, a decrease of 5.7% from the 210,000 tons in the same period of 2023. This accounted for 15.2% of the total freight during the quarter. Meanwhile, the port saw 383 ships dock, a 25.2% increase compared to 306 ships in the previous year’s first quarter. In March 2024 alone, the port processed 492,000 tons of freight, up 15.2% from 427,000 tons in February 2024. March also recorded 142 ship arrivals, an increase from the 122 ships that docked in February.
Additionally, data from the Port of Beirut shows that revenue was $208 million in 2019, a 13% drop from $239 million in 2018. The port handled 6.5 million tons of cargo in 2019, down 18.3% from 8 million tons the previous year. Imported cargo fell to 5.7 million tons, a 19.2% decrease from 7.1 million tons in 2018, making up 87.3% of the total cargo. Exports were 827,000 tons, or 12.7% of the total, down 11.1% from 930,000 tons in 2018. The number of ships docking at the port declined to 1,746 in 2019, a 6.7% decrease from 1,872 in 2018. Monthly figures for December 2019 show revenues at $14.7 million, down 20.7% from $18.5 million in November. The total cargo handled fell by 21.8% month-over-month to 341,000 tons, with imports dropping by 25.1% to 268,000 tons and exports decreasing by 6.4% to 73,000 tons compared to November.
In the first half of 2020, the Port of Beirut’s revenue fell by 43% to $62 million.
Furthermore, in the first half of 2020, the Port of Beirut’s revenues plummeted to $61.6 million, a 43.1% drop from $108.1 million in the same period of 2019. The port handled 2.2 million tons of cargo, down 36.1% from 3.5 million tons in the first half of 2019. Imported cargo decreased by 39.2% to 1.9 million tons, representing 84.3% of the total cargo. Exports were 352,000 tons, an 11.1% decline from 396,000 tons in 2019, accounting for 15.7% of the total cargo. Additionally, 737 vessels docked at the port, a 14.4% decrease from 861 in the same period of 2019.
Smuggling
According to some experts, the port, crucial to the Lebanese economy, is also at the center of a smuggling network that drains nearly two billion dollars from the Lebanese treasury each year. Lebanon, ranked among the world’s most corrupt countries, has yet to take effective measures to tackle this scourge that literally ruins it. No significant reforms or punitive laws have been enacted. The airport, the port, and the land borders remain highly porous while the State is absent.
In March, Expertise France, a French agency specializing in technical expertise, presented the results of an assessment conducted in Beirut from June 2023 to February 2024 by an accredited security body. The evaluation recommends updating Lebanese regulations, “enhancing navigation safety with appropriate lighting,” and even “accelerating the digitization of port services.”
It is worth noting that Lebanon has several other ports, such as Tripoli, Sidon (or Saida) (for bulk cargo and fishing), Tyre (for fishing and boating), Jounieh (formerly a passenger terminal), Dbayeh (for boating), Jieh (for fishing), Okaibeh (for fishing), and Byblos (Jbeil) (for fishing and boating), as well as oil terminals in Amshit and Byblos. However, most of these ports require rehabilitation.
