Port of Gdansk with the highest transhipments in history - 53.2 million tons - Poland at Sea

On 17 January, the Ministry of Infrastructure held a conference summarizing the year 2021 in Polish seaports. It was attended by Ministers Marek Gróbarczyk, Grzegorz Witkowski and management boards of the three largest Polish ports: Gdansk, Szczecin-Swinoujscie port complex and Gdynia. In the Port of Gdansk in 2021 53.2 million tons of goods were transshipped, which represents an 11 per cent increase and at the same time is the highest transhipment result in the history of the Port of Gdansk.

Marek Gróbarczyk, the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Infrastructure, starting the meeting emphasized that such a good result in the history of transshipments in Polish ports has not been seen before.

It shows in what good position our ports are. This record result is a proof that we managed to cope with the effects of pandemic very well. Let us not forget that the pandemic is still ongoing and many economies are in decline. What about us? In terms of the economics of port development, in terms of exports, imports and, above all, the opening up of freight, we can boast of a 9 percent increase over the previous year. 113 million tons clearly classifies us at a very high level in terms of port handling. If we look historically, we see tremendous growth dynamics. From 2008 to the present day we have had an increase in transshipments by 116 percent.

The deputy minister also pointed to the fact that until 2008 we were not included in the rankings for container transshipments. And today we can boast of over 3 million TEU of containers transshipped.

It is a huge success. DCT terminal in Gdansk is currently the largest container port on the Baltic Sea. I am convinced that the ongoing investments in port infrastructure for nearly PLN 7 billion will bring further growth in the coming years. We can not stop at this result, we strive to increase transshipments and build a huge hub, first of all by associating all alliances that were previously located outside of Poland, so that the largest container ships come to us – said the Deputy Minister.

In turn, Grzegorz Witkowski, Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Infrastructure added that investment in infrastructure, and thus the results of individual ports, testify to the fact that the effect of synergy was achieved.

We all played to one goal. We will not spare funds for maritime economy, because every zloty invested in ports, shipyards, infrastructure, returns a hundredfold. These results are the best example.

Record-breaking transshipments in the Port of Gdansk

In the Port of Gdansk in 2021, the total amount of reloaded goods was 53,2 million tons. In comparison to the previous year, it is an 11 per cent increase.

It is the best result in our history. We managed to beat the record of 2019, in which we transshipped 52 million tons – emphasized at the conference Łukasz Greinke, CEO of the Port of Gdansk.

The Port of Gdansk is the fastest growing port in Europe in the last decade, with a growth rate of 110 per cent.

But if we compare the current result to that of 2016, the year when we made the decision on large investments – in infrastructure access to deepwater terminals, in the reconstruction of the waterway and modernization of nearly 5 km of quays in the Inner Port, we can see that the dynamics was the highest in that period – an increase of nearly 16 million tons of goods – adds president Greinke.

The record-breaking result of 2021 was due to, among others, liquid fuel transshipments – 18.8 million tons with growth dynamics of 37.9 per cent. (over 5 million tons more than in 2020). This is an absolute record of Naftoport – nearly 17 million tons. An increase of 10 per cent was recorded by containers. Transhipments in the DCT terminal reached 2.1 million TEU. Even better results are expected soon – in connection with the construction of Baltic Hub 3 and expansion of facilities at terminal T2.

Grains recorded an increase of 7.6 per cent – grain transshipments reached nearly 1.6 million tons. The total transshipments of general cargo, including containerized cargo, increased by 5.5 per cent and amounted to 23.3 million tons. The highest growth was recorded in timber – an increase of as much as 795 per cent. This is a cargo group that occurs in the Port of Gdansk depending on the economic situation on the local market.

It is important to note that we achieved this record during the investment process. The port never sleeps. Although the investments were in full swing, the operators realized their transshipments. The result we achieved last year makes us happy, but it does not satisfy us. We have big aspirations, we want to be one of the biggest ports in Europe and we are interested in a place in the top ten. So far we have moved up to 18th position in Europe, we are still on the Baltic podium – we are 3rd in total transshipments. I am convinced that our next investments, which will be carried out soon, will bring the port of Gdansk to new volumes. Within 2 to 3 years instead of the top five we will have a top six, and in the next 5 years – a top seven,’ assures president Greinke.

source: PortalMorski.pl