SSG No 20 - Shipgaz

POrTS & mAriTimE LOGiSTiCS
Sawn wood being loaded on the ro-ro vessel Estraden in the port of Turku.
increasing cargo volumes
in Finnish ports
An all-time-high was recorded
in the international cargo traffic
in Finnish ports last year. The positive
development has also continued
during 2007.
Last year the international cargo shipments
to and from the Finnish ports
totalled almost 100 million tons of
cargo, according to statistics from the Finnish
Maritime Administration. Of that volume
6.6 million tons were related to transit
shipments, mainly to and from Russia.
Finland
The volume of the seaborne import of
Finland was larger than the export and it
totalled 54.5 million tons. These figures
include 2.7 million tons of cargo bound
further for Russia. The export reached 44.6
million tons of cargo, of which Russian
cargo counted for 3.9 million tons.
The growth in the cargo traffic between
Finland and other countries has continued
in 2007. From January to the end of
August, the loaded and discharged cargo in
the Finnish ports increased by six per cent
compared to the corresponding period in
2006. If nothing exceptional occurs during
the last months of the year, the 100 million
tons’ limit will be reached in 2007 for the
first time ever.
Mostly short sea shipping
Most of the seaborne foreign trade of Finland
is carried on vessels in short sea traffic
on the Baltic Sea and North Sea. In 2006,
63 per cent of the imported cargo was loaded
in ports by the Baltic Sea and 30 per
cent in other European ports. Only seven
per cent of the total Finnish seaborne
import was carried directly from ports on
other continents. Regarding export, the
share of overseas destinations was somewhat
larger. European ports counted for
39 per cent of the destinations and rest of
Europe for 51 per cent.
Forest products play a significant part
in the export of Finland. The largest single
category of goods is paper and board,
counting for 26 per cent of the total export.
When sawn timber and pulp is included,
more than 40 per cent of the exported cargo
is forest related.
On the import side energy and raw
materials are important. Mineral oils domi-
48 SCAnDinAViAn SHiPPinG GAZETTE • OCTOBEr 26, 2007
Pär-HEnrik SjöSTröm