Belfast Harbour recorded another year of expansion in 2025, with throughput edging closer to historic peaks as most cargo categories strengthened and travel numbers also increased.

The Trust Port reported 24.3 million tonnes moved through its facilities last year, up from 24.1 million tonnes in 2024.

As Northern Ireland's principal maritime gateway, Belfast Harbour handles more than 70% of the region's seaborne imports and exports and around a quarter of all sea trade for the island of Ireland. The port processes goods and freight worth £26.7bn annually, underpinning over 15% of Northern Ireland's economic output.

Agricultural commodities were a standout, with grain and animal feed volumes hitting a new high of 2.76 million tonnes, surpassing the previous record of 2.46 million tonnes and highlighting the continued strength of the farming and agrifood sector.

Liquid bulk traffic was also buoyant, with refined oils such as petrol and diesel rising 6% year on year. Break bulk volumes remained firm, including an 11% uplift in steel to 200,000 tonnes.

Roll-On Roll-Off (RoRo) freight set a fresh benchmark in partnership with ferry operator Stena Line, reaching 625,000 freight equivalent units and overtaking the 2024 high of 618,000. The routes to Scotland and England continue to be critical for the local economy, with further growth anticipated as larger vessels are introduced on Belfast services.

Tourism-related movements grew too, with tourist coaches up 6% to 13,500 and ferry passenger numbers increasing 2% to 1.73 million.

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Container activity improved for a second consecutive year, ending 2025 up 1% at 124,118 units.

Agri‑food exports remain central to Northern Ireland's trade performance, supported by fast, reliable links to Great Britain that keep supply chains efficient and competitive.

Michael Robinson, Belfast Harbour's Port Director, said: "The results for 2025 show that the Port community is continuing to do a great job transporting people and delivering the goods and services that we all rely on, not only in business and industry, but in all aspects of our daily lives.

"Trade through Belfast Harbour has once again been resilient in the face of local and global headwinds and we were proud to keep supporting essential industries such as agrifood throughout the year. We continue to invest in our Port facilities and will this year unveil our 2025-2050 Masterplan, which contains plans for major port expansion and upgrades that will further increase our port trade capacity.

"While we remain vigilant to the challenges facing the economy, we are encouraged by this strong performance across all categories, which once again demonstrates the important role Belfast Harbour plays in keeping the local economy moving."

Paul Grant, Trade Director Irish Sea North, Stena Line said: "Stena Line's routes from Belfast Harbour continue to be some of the most successful across our network, and we're delighted to have once again hit a record number of freight units passing through the city. With the recent arrival of our two new freight vessels for our Belfast – Heysham service, Stena Futura and Stena Connecta, we expect that this growth will continue with increased capacity to meet continued high demand."

Claudine Heron, Agri Division CEO, W&R Barnett, said: "The Agri‑feed market continued to show strong demand throughout 2025, and the reliability and efficiency of operations at Belfast Harbour have been central to supporting that growth. The long‑term commitments set out in the Belfast Harbour 2050 Masterplan provide confidence that the port will continue to invest in the modern, sustainable infrastructure needed to keep supply chains resilient and competitive, particularly for our Agri customer base. For businesses like ours, this forward‑looking approach is essential to enabling productivity, supporting future expansion and contributing to wider economic prosperity across Northern Ireland."

Michael Bell OBE, Executive Director, Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association said: "Increased trade across the Irish Sea demonstrates both the strength of the Northern Ireland food and drink industry, and the importance of our region to UK food security. Locally our industry supports some 113,000 jobs across the supply chain and feeds 10 million people across the UK. With a growing world population and heightened geopolitical uncertainty, our strategic role in feeding the nation has never been more important, and the seamless movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland is key to fulfilling that mission."