620 thousand tonnes of cargo more at the quays of Gdansk

12.05.2003

Conservative forecasts for the year 2003 made on the turn of 2002 assumed the volume of cargo handling to remain at the level reported in 2002. The economic conditions at that time failed to give sufficient grounds for more optimistic approach, therefore, maintaining that level was regarded as a reasonable assessment of the situation. On the other hand, there is a great need for improvement in terms of cargo handling on the quays owned by the Port of Gdansk. So what is the situation now, that the first four months of 2003 have passed?

In the first four-month period of the last year, on the quays owned by the Port of Gdansk, a volume of 5,887,459 tonnes of various cargoes was handled, whereas, in the corresponding period of this year, the throughput amounted to 6,506,631 tonnes, which indicates a growth of 619,172 tonnes in the cargo handling. This progress can also be observed on daily basis, as for a long time now, the Port of Gdansk has not seen such a large number of vessels mooring at its quays.

The major increase in cargo volumes was reported in terms of two cargo groups: other bulk and fuels. From January till the end of April last year, Gdansk stevedores handled 618,527 tonnes of other bulk cargoes, while this year's volume totals to nearly 1 million tonnes, 924,187 tonnes to be exact. This shows a growth of 305,660 tonnes, i.e. nearly 50% in the cargo handling volumes. To a large extend, this results from the restored liquid urea export, which stimulated the activity of the quay serviced by "Chemiki" Ltd. (cargo handling growth for the respective four-month periods - from 335,252 tonnes in 2002 to 551,446 tonnes in 2003). Furthermore, a forecasted growth in the fuel handling was confirmed in practical terms. A growth of 273,767 tonnes has been reported in the liquid fuels handling this year, compared to the first four months of the previous year (in 2003 - 2,670,584 tonnes, whereas in 2002 - 2,396,817 tonnes). This came as a result of the predicted growth (up to 6 million tonnes this year) in transit crude oil handling.

Another satisfying accomplishment is an increased volume of general cargo handling. During the time from January till the end of April 2002, at the quays owned by the Port of Gdansk, 551,858 tonnes of general cargo was handled, while in 2003 an over 24% growth has been reported, with a total volume of 684,355 tonnes. A major share in this cargo group is taken up by rolled products and scrap in export.

Slight drop in volume has been reported in terms of coal, ore and grain handling, compared with the last year's corresponding period. This year, the port handled 2,135,825 tonnes of coal, while the volume in 2002 amounted to 2,209,316 tonnes (i.e. 73,490 tonnes less), 12,588 tonnes less ore (25,803 tonnes in 2003 vs. 38,391 tonnes during the four-month time of 2002) and 6,675 tonnes less grain (65,876 tonnes in 2003 vs. 72,551 tonnes in 2002). These are, however, insignificant falls and can be easily compensated for, says Marek Czernowski, Chief Dispatcher of the Port of Gdansk. When it comes to the coal handling, for instance, it is still suffering consequences of the severe winter weather that slightly disrupted the inflow of imported coal, and, given some time, it will surely recover to the forecasted level.

The growth of 620 thousand tonnes in cargo handling at the quays does not constitute an enormous improvement in a rather difficult situation of the Port of Gdansk. However, it is a satisfying result, and, if the tendency of growth continues - it will confirm the right course of action that had been adopted.