PTI is continuing its partnership with the Actia Forum to bring you the ‘Top 10 Baltic Ports in Q1 2022’.
Following on from last month’s ‘Top 10 Baltic Ports 2021’ article, we now shift our attention to the Baltic region’s most recent container handling results.
To compile this list, the Actia took each port’s Q1 2022 figures and ranked them accordingly.
10. The Port of Kaliningrad
As companies such as Maersk withdraw from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, business across the country’s ports has suffered significantly.
The Port of Kaliningrad has seen a 26.39 per cent year-on-year fall in containers over the period of January to March 2022, moving just 72,816 TEU.
Shipping lines that previously stopped all bookings to Russia have said they will not return to the country until the conflict is resolved.
“We will not return until we think that Russia again plays a good and constructive role in the world,” said Maersk CEO Søren Skou in a press briefing.
9. Freeport of Riga
Next up in our list comes Latvia’s main trade gateway – the Freeport of Riga.
In Q1 2022, the port handled a total of 111,318 TEU, up 5.86 per cent compared to the same period in 2021.
In February, the Freeport of Riga Authority announced it is looking to invest €19.8 million ($22.4 million) over the course of this year in the development of port infrastructure.
The investment plan includes the clearing and dredging of its navigational waters, various improvements to its hydro-technical constructions, and the modernisation of several berths.
8. Port of Helsinki
Container volumes at the Port of Helsinki also declined in Q1 2022. The port is an important hub for containers in transit to and from Russia, therefore was severely impacted by major shipping lines suspending cargo bookings to the country.
Helsinki’s container throughput for the first three months of 2022 dropped by 10.27 per cent to 112,318 TEU.
7. Port of HaminaKotka
The Port of HaminaKotka suffered the same effects as the Port of Helsinki and saw its throughput for the quarter drop due to the impact of the Ukraine war.
A total of 140,300 TEU moved through the port’s facilities during the quarter, a year-on-year decrease of 15.64 per cent.
6. Port of Aarhus
The Port of Aarhus, Denmark’s largest deep-sea port, enters the next spot on our list.
Containers at the port grew by 3.26 per cent in Q1 2022 to 181,000 TEU.
In January, APM Terminals Aarhus announced it completed the installation of 180 reefer plugs at its facility.
The capacity is said to allow the container terminal to plan for additional reefer cargo.
5. The Port of Gothenburg
Russian trade via the Port of Gothenburg has traditionally been very small and so the port’s container handling results have not been majorly impacted by the events in Ukraine.
Over the first three months of 2022, Gothenburg processed 212,000 TEU, an increase of slightly above 4 per cent year-on-year. Over half of the volumes that passed through the port during the period were transported by rail.
Green Cargo has also recently launched a new freight shuttle between the Port of Gothenburg and Rosersberg, north of Stockholm.
4. Port of Klaipeda
The Port of Klaipeda saw the largest rise in container volumes across the Baltic region in Q1 2022, returning the port to pre-pandemic levels.
A total of 218,015 TEU moved through its facilities in the previous quarter, a 47.5 per cent increase year-on-year.
3. Port of Gdynia
Poland’s second-largest port – the Port of Gdynia – kicks off our top three.
Container volumes declined slightly by 0.73 per cent in Q1 2022. However, the port still managed to handle 237,712 TEU.
2. Sea Port of St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg is yet another Russian port that saw a considerable decline in volumes over the last quarter.
Caused by the sanctions imposed on the country, the port only processed 437,858 TEU, a 12.37 per cent decline compared to Q1 2021.
Earlier this year, Sea Port of Saint Petersburg JSC (SP SPb), one of the port’s stevedoring companies, announced it had invested RUB 27.3 million ($361,563) in implementing a new environmental programme.
1. Port of Gdańsk
Topping our list of ‘Top 10 Baltic Ports in Q1 2022’ is the Port of Gdańsk.
By moving 561,396 TEU, the port saw its container volumes rise by 9 per cent over the first quarter of the year.
This follows the news that DCT Gdańsk had handled a record number of containers in March 2022, processing a total of 206,645 TEU.
It is worth noting that whereas the world’s largest container carriers such as Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM have suspended cargo bookings to/from Russia in response to the Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the impressive result from Gdańsk may mean growth on other directions.
Following the deepening of its fairway and the modernisation of more than five kilometres of quays, the port outlined its investment plan for further infrastructure developments.
Under its ‘Improving access to the Port of Gdańsk – modernisation of fairways 2’ project, the Port of Gdańsk will extend four quays in the inner port area with a total length of 1,916 metres, including railway infrastructure.
Each port’s Q1 container handling figures from over the last four years have been summarised in the table below.