Port of Gdansk throughput up 7 percent to 32.3 million tonnes in 2014
The preliminary results show that in the twelve months of 2014, the Port of Gdansk handled around 32.3 million tonnes of cargo i.e. 7 percent more than in 2013, the company said in its press release.
The most significant factors behind this success include almost 40 percent growth in the handling of other bulk, more than 13 percent growth in fuels, nearly 10 percent increase in grain, and almost 7 percent rise in general cargo.
Additionally, year 2014 will pass into history thanks to the record high container throughput. While twelve months ago, we were happy to see the one millionth container handled by the Port of Gdansk, in 2014 we managed for the first time to exceed the volume of 1.2 million TEU, thus improving the last year's record container throughput by around 3 percent.
However, comparing the container throughput results in Gdansk over the last 5-6 years shows that its growth more than doubled, with Gdansk consequently raising its position among the largest container seaports in the Baltic from eighth place in 2009 to second in 2012, subsequently maintained in 2013. As evident in the preliminary results, 2014 was the third consecutive year for the Port of Gdansk to not only maintain, but also strengthen its position thanks to reducing its distance to Saint Petersburg which has proven unrivaled for many years.
The size of ships handled by the Port of Gdansk throughout the last 8 years has expanded by almost 70 percent, with the year 2014 bringing record high results also in this regard, as indicated by the vessel traffic figures.
The excellent performance attained by the Port of Gdansk has coincided with the excellent condition of Poland's maritime economy and its rising importance in the handling of foreign trade. Thanks to the enhanced quality of cargo handling services coupled by the continued improvement of port's infrastructure and accessibility from land and sea as well as the port's superb hydrographic conditions, Gdansk has ample capacity to handle the increasingly larger volumes of goods and sizes of ships with every consecutive year.