SSG No 20 - Shipgaz

PORTS & MARITIME LOGISTICS
The entrance of the port in Kolobrzeg has been broadened.
the port of Gdynia, which this year celebrates
its 85th anniversary, will increase
capacity in Gdynia alone to an estimated
one million TEU a year.
Also in Swinoujscie container turnover
grows at a faster pace. VGN Terminal is
called by container ships twice a week. The
terminal has signed a contract with Icelandic
Samskip that operates a service between
Swinoujscie and Hull in England (45-feet
containers) and poses a real threat to roadhauled
trailer transports.
Szczecin is also experiencing growth. So
far containers have been handled mainly at
the Czeskie quay but a new container terminal
is being built on Ostrow Grabowski.
The terminal is to be completed by the
beginning of 2008. Capacity is planned to
reach 80,0000 TEU and further expansion
will be possible.
Become the leading container hub
The ambition of the Port of Gdansk is
to become the leading hub for container
transshipments in the Baltic Sea region.
In the Inner Port, situated at the Martwa
Wisla, there is a smaller and well managed
terminal, the Gdanski Terminal Kontenerowy
(GTC). Handling is now restricted by
lack of storage facilities, making it impossible
to handle many containers at the same
time. This may change when planned road
investments have been completed. GTC
has received a new efficient gantry crane
(40 t), which will definitely increase efficiency
in the terminal.
The huge terminal site of Deep Water
Terminal Gdansk, in Port Polnocny (Northern
Harbour), is completed, and the largest
container ships in Baltic Sea trades will
be able to call the terminal. A test call has
been made by the 822-TEU Gotland of
Football supporters seem
to be far more convincing
to Warsaw than the
basic need of acceptable
infrastructure for economic
development.
Team Lines, discharging 53 Hapaq-Loyd
containers, and the terminal will by fully
operational at the end of October 2007.
Capacity will be 500,000 TEU annually.
Marek Czerkowski of Deep Water Terminal
Gdansk predicts that the terminal will
handle at least 20,000 TEU during the rest
of this year.
Since the end of September 2007, DCT
Gdansk operates three ship-to-shore (STS)
post-panamax gantry cranes and five RTGs.
The next stage of DCT is to increase capacity
at the deepwater terminal to at least one
million TEUs a year.
In the close neighbourhood of DCT, a
210-hectare logistics centre is developed.
So far, only Team Lines and CMA CGM
have openly expressed interest in the terminal.
However, it is more than sure that
the experienced team of English managers
including Collin Chanter and Robin
Macleod does not reveal all its plans.
There is yet another question to deal
with, and that is to connect the terminal
and the entire port with the new A1 motorway.
This is vital, but today there are some
delays at the so-called Trasa Sucharskiego.
The container terminals in Gdynia have
the same problem. The increased container
turnover means that development of the
LESZEK SZyMANSKI
road infrastructure is absolutely necessary.
According to a report from the Supreme
Chamber of Control, the ports of Gdansk
and Gdynia lose USD 250 million a year
because of the lack of the A1 motorway
connection. Forwarders from southern
Poland, Slovakia and The Czech Republic
prefer the longer but much better German
motorways and the ports of Hamburg,
Bremerhaven or Rotterdam before the narrow
and dangerous National Road No1,
which is the only way to get from Gdansk
to southern Poland.
motorway ready by 2010
In 2005 work on the long awaited A1 was
finally started. The first phase is a 90-kilometre
road from Gdansk to Grudziadz.
The next phase, Grudziadz–Torun, is to be
started in the spring next year. The Polish
government has promised that the entire
motorway will be ready by the end of 2010.
Thanks to funds provided by EU in
2006, construction of a connection with
the port of Gdynia has begun. The 3.5 kilometre
long road, which Gdynia has awaited
for nearly 30 years, will connect the already
existing ring way with Estakada Kwiatkowskiego,
a two-lane road that leads to the port,
shipyard and the navy base.
The total investment is PLN 240 million
(EUR 64 million). PLN 180 million (EUR
48 million) comes from EU funds, and the
rest is covered by city of Gdynia. If everything
goes according to plan, the road will
be completed before 2008.
In Gdansk, Trasa Sucharskiego road will
connect the port with A1. The project
includes construction of an 800 metres
long road tunnel under the port channel,
the first such tunnel in Poland. The cost
for the project, including the tunnel, splitlevel
crossings and an eight kilometres long
road, is estimated to PLN 1,2 billion (EUR
322 million), two thirds of the sum to be
financed by EU and the city of Gdansk.
Some say that the main reason behind
the projects, finally giving the ports good
road and railway connections with their
hinterland, is the European Football Cup
that will be held in Poland and Ukraine in
2012. Football supporters demanding new
roads seem to be far more convincing to
Warsaw than the basic need of acceptable
infrastructure for economic development.
After all, the poor road and railway infrastructure
is a result of the fact that this field
has been neglected for many years.
leszek szymanski
64 SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • OCTOBER 26, 2007