Port of Szczecin-Świnoujście with record transshipments
Port operators operating in the ports of Szczecin-Świnoujście, Gdańsk and Gdynia generated an excellent operating result in 2022. As a result, the ports closed the year 2022 with 133.2 million cargoes handled, which means that this result is 18 percent better than in 2021. Of this result, the port of Szczecin-Świnoujście accounts for 27.6 percent.
A press conference was held in Warsaw with the participation of Deputy Ministers of Infrastructure Marek Gróbarczyk and Grzegorz Witkowski. During it, the ministers together with the management boards of the seaports of Szczecin-Świnoujście, Gdańsk and Gdynia summarized the excellent year 2022 for Polish ports. The results developed with the Szczecin-Świnoujście port team were presented by the vice-president for economic and financial affairs, Daniel Stachiewicz.
– 2022 was another record year for Polish seaports. The transhipment results clearly show how good the condition of Polish ports is. I am convinced that these successes are also influenced by the investments implemented in recent years, which contributed to the development of this sector and increased transshipment capacity. I would like to thank the port authorities and operators as well as all employees for their hard work. I hope that this year will bring even more positive information for the Polish maritime economy – said Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Marek Gróbarczyk.
For the port of Szczecin-Świnoujście, 2022 was a record year in terms of the number of cargo handled. Ports achieved a result of 36.8 million tons, thus they are in the black compared to 2021 by 11 percent.
– This is a record that was achieved thanks to all the stakeholders who work in the port. I would like to thank the port operators and the employees of the port authority. – said Daniel Stachiewicz, Vice-President for Economic and Financial Affairs at ZMPSiŚ.
Interestingly, the all-time record, thus exceeding the result of 33.3 million tonnes achieved throughout 2021, the ports already made on November 30, last year. As a result, in December they were already working for a record.
The record was set by transshipments in the coal group, which was almost 51 percent more than in 2021. It is worth noting that in the face of the energy crisis and the embargo on coal supplies from Russia, the volume of steam coal imports alone increased by as much as 235%. Over 3 million tons of this raw material were imported through the ports of Szczecin and Świnoujście last year.
Another group with the largest increases are liquid fuels, whose turnover was higher by 42.5 percent. A significant increase in LNG imports should be emphasized here. By the end of the year, 58 units were serviced at the gas terminal, while in 2021 – 35 (i.e. 23 less). LNG transshipments in 2022 increased from 2.7 million tons to 4.4 million tons.
In addition, the turnover in the group of metal ores increased by 11.4 percent, among which iron ore has the largest share, which was up 1.6 million tonnes from the total of 2.1 million tonnes. The turnover of cargo from the other bulk segment also increased by approx. 11 percent. Fertilizers dominate here, but also such goods as pig iron, largely coming from Ukraine and ultimately going to Western Europe.
Unfortunately, the ports also recorded slight declines. They cover the most important commodity group, which is general cargo, including ferry cargo. Investment and renovation works carried out in the ferry terminal in Świnoujście caused a slight decrease in transport by over two percent. The economic situation on the grain market is also different and therefore in 2022 its handling in Szczecin and Świnoujście decreased by 7.6 percent. This is partly the effect of unblocking Ukrainian ports and exporting agricultural products directly from Ukraine. There was also a significant turnover of cereals in transit, mainly maize. Container transhipments y/y decreased by 8 percent