Bulgaria's Varna port handles 8.3 mln T of cargo through Dec 14 – media

The biggest Bulgarian seaport has handled 123,000 containers, carrying 1.6 million tonnes of goods, which is more than the tonnage processed in the same period of last year, news daily Standart quoted the port's director of operations Alexander Stankov as saying on Monday.

A total of 1,247 ships carrying 9.0 million gross register tonnes of cargo were handled by the end of November, compared to 1,327 ships carrying 9.6 million gross register tonnes of cargo a year earlier.

Stankov said that the port plans to purchase two 63-tonne cranes next year. They will be used to load and discharge steel pipes and other equipment for the construction of the Bulgarian section of the South Stream gas pipeline.