A new record for the Polish maritime economy

30.11.2015

Last Friday, a new record in the history of the Polish maritime economy was broken for cargo handling which, until that point, had stood at 32.3 million tonnes per year. This is the volume handled last year at the quays of the Port of Gdansk.

This year, despite the difficult situation on the shipping market, turned out to be extremely successful for the Port of Gdansk since, as of today, the total tonnage of cargo handled at the Port of Gdansk already stands at 32.5 million tons with one more full month remaining until the end of the year.

Therefore, we can expect that be the end of 2015 the Port of Gdansk will have handled an amount which may even exceed 35 million tonnes - a result which beats the achievement of any Polish port.

Even after a full summary of the previous 10 months, the Port of Gdansk noted a total amount of cargo transshipment almost 11% greater than the forecast for this period, while the result of the record year of 2014 exceeded expectations by more than 13%. Such a magnificent result stems from the highly industrious activity of the transshipment terminals located at the Port of Gdansk and investments made in various port facilities.

2015 has undoubtedly been a particularly successful period in terms of tonnage for the transhipment of liquid fuel and general cargo, including containers. As of today, the first of these groups in the current year has experienced a year-on-year increase of 20% compared with 2014, while general cargo managed to surpass last year's record result by approx. 4%.

Not without significance is the transshipment of coal, which in the previous months of this year has increased by almost 30% compared with 2014.

It is still too early for a full summary of this 12-month period, although 2015 will undoubtedly go down in history as the third year in a row when the Port Gdansk has managed to break new records.

Taking into account ongoing investments in the port, including the extension of the container terminal DCT, the previously announced new bulk terminal of OT Logistics, the construction of the PERN oil terminal as well as the completed investment in the Liquid Fuel Base (the new T1 shipping berth), and finally the development of the intermodal terminal in the area of the Szczecinskie Quay, the ongoing modernisation of the 226 railway line, including the construction of a new railway bridge to the Port of Gdansk and a number of other important investment projects, one might expect that 2015 will not remain the last record year for the Port of Gdansk and its stakeholders.

The ambitious transshipment forecasts announced in the Port of Gdansk development strategy for the coming years, including an expected tripling in the volume of cargo handled during the next decade, are beginning to take a real and measurable shape. The changing geography of transport is gradually becoming a reality.