ports Ports on the rising tide again MACIEJ BORKOWSKI olish seaports appear to have forgotten seaports succeeded in overcoming the down- from Gdynia the position of a leader in the Pabout the recent crisis, to say the least. ward trend (see: Table 1). Gdańsk strength- category of Poland’s largest container port. Their throughput in 2010 (nearly 65M t) was ened its leading position, owing to its impres- almost 31% higher than the year before, sive performance: its throughput increased exceeding considerably even those from by 44% year-on-year. And it was by no means Oil, coal and general cargo before the crisis (see Table 1). The over the greater dynamics reported, as the turn- ten-year period of slump in sales, which over in the port of Police more than doubled. Unlike in 2009, this time the excellent sometimes even turned into falls, suddenly It means that the local chemical plants are performance of Gdańsk is not mainly due came to an end. The curves skyrocketed. getting their production going, following the to the growth in grain and coal throughput. We need to bear in mind, however, that period of downturn which adversely affected The throughput of coal increased indeed high throughput figures do not necessar- the activity of the port. (+0.6M t), but it was liquid fuels (+4,7M t) ily immediately translate into high profits. The ports in Szczecin and Świnoujście and general cargo (+2.7M t) that reported the That is why companies operating in the port as well as the port of Gdynia reported very greatest turnover growth. What did fall was bridle their enthusiasm. good throughput, with respective growth of grain throughput – in all ports, which saved This time not only the port of Gdańsk, as 26% and 11%. The port of Gdańsk can boast port statistics back in 2009. Yet again the was the case in 2009, but all Polish major another spectacular success, as it took over predictions concerning limiting the export Table 1 Throughput in major Polish sea ports in 2008 – 2010 per cargo type groups (in thousand t) General Liquid Port Years Coal Ore Other bulk Grain Timber Total Cargo Fuels 2008 1 088 30 2 603 647 0 3 060 10 353 17 781 2009 2 716 16 2 218 961 0 3 458 9 494 18 863 Gdańsk 2010 3 180 10 2 676 781 0 6 132 14 401 27 182 ‘09/’08 % 249,6 53,3 85,2 148,5 0,0 113,0 91,7 106,1 ‘10/’09 % 117,1 62,5 120,6 81,3 0,0 177,3 151,7 144,1 2008 1 343 0 2 366 1 300 40 9 615 804 15 467 2009 1 899 0 1 892 1 915 16 6 757 778 13 257 Gdynia 2010 1 683 4 2 264 1 663 43 8 159 916 14 735 09/08 % 141,4 0,0 80,0 147,3 40,0 70,3 96,8 85,7 ‘10/’09 % 88,6 0,0 119,7 86,8 268,8 120,7 117,7 111,1 2008 5 464 1 457 2 506 1 129 45 7 859 755 19 216 2009 4 219 610 1 994 1 615 12 7 096 948 16 497 Szczecin– 2010 7 294 471 2 213 1 342 12 8 467 1 040 20 842 Świnoujście ‘09/’08 % 77.2 41.9 79.6 143.1 26.8 90.3 125.6 85.9 ‘10/’09 % 172,9 77,2 111,0 83,1 100,0 119,3 109,7 126,3 2008 24 0 2 237 0 0 0 0 2 261 2009 27 0 804 0 0 0 0 831 Police 2010 30 98 1826 0 0 0 0 1954 ‘09/’08 % 112,5 0 35,9 0 0 0 0 36,8 ‘10/’09 % 111,1 0 227,1 0 0 0 0 235,1 2008 7 919 1 486 9 713 3 076 85 20 534 11 913 54 725 2009 8 862 627 6 909 4 491 28 17 311 11 221 49 449 Total: 2010 12 187 583 8 979 3 786 83 22 758 16 357 64 714 ‘09/’08 % 111,9 42,2 71,1 146,0 32,9 84,3 94,2 90,4 ‘10/’09 % 102,1 119,7 126,0 89,8 296,4 121,8 144,6 130,9 NAMIARY – biweekly I special supplement 5 ports Port of Gdańsk Photo: Port of Gdańsk Chart 1 of Russian oil via Gdańsk failed to come true. huge ro-pax ferries used by Finnlines on Throughput in Gdańsk On the contrary, Gdańsk reached a record the Rostock-Gdynia-Helsinki line. by cargo groups in 2010 high of liquid fuels handled (14.4M t). In Gdynia, ‘other bulk cargoes’ (+0.4M t) dominated the turnover growth, with gen- Smaller ports 53% Coal eral cargo in the lead (turnover increase of Ore 1.4M t). Despite that, the port did not recover The port in Police, which has been ope- the ranking position of the general cargo rating on its own for four years only, repor- Grain 0% Timber leader, which it lost in 2009 to the Szczecin- ted a substantial turnover growth, following 3% Fuels Świnoujście port complex (similar was the a major fall to 1/3 of the turnover in 2009. 0% Other 10% case in 2003). Container terminals in Gdynia, Since then, throughput there has in- General cargo 12% with the support of Baltic General Cargo Ter- creased by as much as 135%, reaching 22% minal Gdynia (BTDG), are striving to patch nearly 2M t. The port authority is looking the loss that Maersk Line left behind moving on the market for partners who would help Węgiel Ruda Zboże Drewno Paliwa ChartInne* 2 toDrobnica Gdańsk in December 2008. turn Police into a more universal place and Węgiel Ruda Zboże Drewno Paliwa Inne* Drobnica Following the grim 2009, also ferry reduce their dependence from the local Throughput in Gdynia services started to grow in the port of Gdy- chemical plants. by cargo groups in 2010 nia. The odds are that this growth will be A breakthrough was reported in the greater this year, as Stena Line introduced Elbląg port, which had been cut off from 56% two new larger and more modern ferries the sea ever since Russian authorities had Coal to the line to Karlskrona and the second closed the border and suspended free ship- Ore double loading ramp was delivered in the ping on the Vistula Lagoon. On June 1, 2010, Grain port in December 2010. The ramp will en- a first barge with Russian coal called at the Timber able a more effective application of the port. Between June and November, when Fuels Other 12% 15% Table 2 General cargo 0% 6% 0% 11% Container throughput WęgielWęgiel Ruda Zboże DrewnoDrewno PaliwaPaliwa ChartInne*Inne* 3 DrobnicaDrobnica in major Polish ports in 2010 (in TEU) Throughput in Szczecin-Świnoujście Port – terminal Arrival Discharge Total by cargo groups in 2010 Gdańsk 241 684 272 355 514 039 DCT 221 277 230 453 451 730 including: 41% GTK 20 407 41 902 62 309 Coal 35% Ore Gdynia 250 463 234 741 485 214 Grain BCT 157 398 123 744 281 142 Timber including: GCT 90 818 108 273 199 101 Fuels BTDG 2 247 2 724 4 971 Other 2% Szczecin – DB PS 27 733 28 665 56 398 General cargo 11% 6% 5% 0% All the ports: 519 880 535 761 1 055 651 Source: data from BCT, BTDG, DB PS, DCT, GCT, GTK terminals. (by MB) Węgiel Ruda Zboże Drewno Paliwa Inne* Drobnica 6 NAMIARY – biweekly I special supplement ports Port of Szczecin zasnojć M. C Photo: Chart 4 amount. All in all, however, the results finished by the end of March. Construction achieved by Polish ports, both when it and modernization of quays in the port basin, Share of Polish major sea ports in 2010 comes to throughput and profits, were the where container terminals are located, has best in many years. And that despite the also been envisaged. fact that, independently of one another, In Szczecin and Świnoujście, ports lo- 23% Gdańsk port authorities, maritime administration cated at the mouth of the Oder, the invest- Gdynia and the companies located in ports reali- ments in the field of modernization alone Police zed many investments. may consume over EUR 100M (that on top of Szczecin There is a chance that this year can be hundreds of millions to cover the construc- Świnoujście even better. In the port of Gdańsk, the re- tion cost of the entirely new outer port and 42% 32% building of the port entrance and the break- an LNG terminal with transfer infrastructure water is to continue, as is the modernizing of in Świnoujście). 3% the port canal. The Port Polnocny company In Szczecin, a new container terminal is (Northern Port), co-owned by Sea-Invest and launching its activity, grain terminal is being Gdańsk Gdynia Szczecin-Świnoujście PoliceArcelor Mittal, is planning to launch the con- enlarged, and a terminal for handling chemi- the shipping was suspended due to the struction of a new bulk cargo terminal. Next cals is to be built. In both ports the quays, icing of the Lagoon, the Elbląg port handled to the port, the construction of a big logistic yards, roads, railway subgrades, power and 24,200 t of coal, 9,200 t of soya and 31,400 t park is to start, with Goodman as the inves- telecommunication networks, sewage sys- of general cargo (mainly construction mate- tor and operator.