Cargo Handling at the Port of Klaipeda and Adjacent Ports in January – August 2006

Increase of Ro-ro units (change + 23.8 percent) was generated by growth of handling of trailers, highway freighters and trucks in the port of Klaipeda.  In August this year, over 20.7 thousand ro-ro units were handled, which is the highest monthly figure in 2006.   

 

Figure 3.  Cargo turnover results in the ports on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea (thousand tons)

 

n. d. – no data available

 

Throughout the first eight months of this year the port of Tallinn handled 27.76 million tons of cargo (+5.4 percent change in comparison to the same period of 2005). In terms of cargo type, dry bulk cargo handling grew by +42.4 percent or 2 339.5 thousand tons, general cargo +7.6 percent or 224.6 thousand tons, while amount of liquid cargo handled decreased by –7.1 percent or 1 269.9 thousand tons.  Liquid cargoes 60.3 percent accounted for the largest share in the total handling structure in Tallinn port.

 

 

In the period of January through August an increase in the number of cargo ship calls (change +7.4 percent) and decrease in the number of passenger vessels (change – 12.3 percent) at the port of Tallinn was recorded.

 

Cargo handling figure for the port of Ventspils in January through August 2006 was 19.67 million tons, the figure for the corresponding period of 2005 was 20.11 million tons.  In terms of cargo type, amount of dry bulk cargo handled was –22.3 percent, correspondingly less by 5.57 million tons, general cargo increased 3.4 times to 1.67 million tons and liquid cargo turnover showed no change in comparison to 2005 being 12.44 million tons.  In terms of cargo nomenclature, handling of Ro-ro (+ 1064 thousand tons), crude oil (+724 thousand tons) and ammonia (+ 172 thousand tons) have grown.  Handling of the main transit cargoes – oil products and bulk fertilizers – slumped respectively by 899 thousand tons and 1375 thousand tons.

 

In the first eight months of 2006 the port of Riga handled 17.62 million tons of cargo, which is +7.5 percent more in relation to the same period of the previous year.  Handling of dry bulk cargo accounted for the larger share of the total amounting to more than 10.99 million tons, this amount exceeded the same period last year amount by +13.4 percent or 1 298.7 thousand tons. Amount of bulk fertilizers handled was -23.2 thousand tons or –2.4 percent less than the previous year.  Coal handling increased by +9.7 percent or 686.8 thousand tons and accounted for 44.2 percent of total handling turnover.

Amount of general cargo handled in the port of Riga was 3.36 million tons (-22.4 percent down in comparison to January-August of the previous year).  In terms of general cargo nomenclature, timber accounted for 2 020.8 thousand tons (-25.9 percent), and containerised cargo 1 067.2 thousand tons (+2.9 percent). Turnover of liquid cargo for January-August increased by +38.4 percent in comparison to the previous year and amounted to 3.27 million tons including 3.23 million tons of oil products (+43.9 percent).

 

Amount of cargo handled in the port of Kaliningrad throughout the first eight months of this year was equal to 10.59 million tons (+6.9 percent up in relation to the same period of 2005). Increase was recorded for handling of liquid cargo bulk of which is made up of oil products, the figure was +954.3 thousand tons or +16.2 percent.  Turnover of dry bulk cargo totalled +118.1 thousand tons or +9.1 percent more.  Slump in handling of general cargo (figure for January-August 2006 was 1 899.6 thousand tons, while in January-August 2005 – 2 375.4 thousand tons) was caused by lower amounts of metals and timber handled.  Increase in bulk and liquid cargo handling turnover accounted for the largest growth in total handling figures in Kaliningrad port.

 

 

Amount of cargo handled in the port of Liepaja in January-August 2006 was 2.71 million tons, which is less by –9 percent than in January-August of 2005. Handling of liquid cargo amounted to 668.1 thousand tons or +49.5 percent more than in the same period of the previous year, bulk cargo – 1 048.7 thousand tons (growth of +28.7 percent in relation to the corresponding period of the previous year).  Growth of these types of cargo is the result of increased handling of agricultural goods, scrap metals and oil products.

Figure for general cargoes was down from 1 721.1 thousand tons in 2005 to 996.9 thousand tons in 2006 (change –42.1 percent), which caused slump in overall handling figures for the port of Liepaja.  In terms of cargo nomenclature, decrease was recorded for Ro-ro handling (-412.5 thousand tons), timber (-154.6 thousand tons) and ferrous metals (–105.6 thousand tons).