SSG No 20 - Shipgaz

PorTs & MAriTiMe loGisTiCs
transports. Time may show how this will
turn out, but we expect that the share of
goods carried on railway will reach some
20 per cent in quite a short time.”
Growth potential
Inside the port area the logistic areas are
optimised for the actual types of cargo to
be handled in the port. Both ro-ro and container
handling require large areas for the
storage of units. The infrastructure allows
an estimated annual ro-ro handling capacity
of between 700,000 and 800,000 trucks
and trailers, compared to the estimate of
470,000 units this year in the old facilities.
The layout of the three container terminals
allows the container handling capacity
to increase hand in hand with the traffic
growth by acquiring more cranes and handling
equipment as well as by enlarging the
storage areas.
“The port area will be fully built out
already from the beginning, but the equipment
of the port operators will be dimensioned
to the actual traffic”, explains Mr
Nissinen.
The harbour is designed for an annual
container turnover of some 1.3 million
TEUs. It is estimated that the port of Helsinki
will handle some 440,000 TEUs in
2007. Only about three per cent of the containers
handled in Helsinki are related to
transit traffic.
“Transit containers require more space as
the average storage time for a transit container
in the port area is about a week. A
container with goods for Finland stays no
more than three or four days in the port,”
informs Mr Nissinen.
In the Vuosaari Harbour there will also
be facilities for importing cars. From 25,000
to 30,000 cars are imported in the port of
Helsinki annually, and they are exclusively
intended for the Finnish market.
Port development
Risk Assessment
PorT of Helsinki
“We see a growth potential in this business.
In Finland about 140,000 new cars
are registered each year. Of these 40 per
cent are sold in the Helsinki area.”
Flexibility
In the Vuosaari-project the fact that the
world is likely to change quite a lot during
the long time the port will be operational
is of course also taken into consideration.
The quays are therefore designed for both
container and ro-ro traffic.
“In this way we will be prepared for
future changes in the structure of the cargo
volumes. It is most certain that changes
will occur in the shares between rubber
tyre units and containers during the decades.”
The fairway depth of 11 m allows calls
of container vessels with a capacity up to
2,500 TEUs. Regarding ro-ro vessels Mr
Nissinen says that the depth will be quite
sufficient also in the future but it is by no
way ruled out that the feeder container vessels
of the future will be even bigger in the
Baltic Sea. The berths primarily intended
for container handling are therefore constructed
with a larger water depth than the
fairway.
“If there will be a need to offer traffic
with larger vessels in the future, only the
fairway has to be deepened.”
Mr Nissinen stresses that even if it is
important to keep the port modern for
decades with the help of careful planning
of the infrastructure, it is the port operators
that make the port efficient.
“The most important issues when talking
about a modern port are the cargo
handling equipment and the information
systems,” he says.
pär-henrik sjöström
SSPA Sweden is an independent
consulting company providing
services in the areas of maritime
operations, coastal development, and
ship design. We focus on developing
efficient, safe, and environmentally
friendly maritime solutions.
www.sspa.se
28 sCAnDinAViAn sHiPPinG GAZeTTe • oCToBer 26, 2007