Container throughput at the Deepwater Container Terminal (DCT) Port of Gdansk in Poland has declined to 2018 levels as the economic crisis that has engulfed many regions in the wake of the global pandemic also hit Europe.
Volumes in the first 10 months of the 2020 at DCT reached 1.61 million TEU, compared to 1.745 million in the same period of 2019 and 1.61 million the year before.
Prior to this year’s economic travails DCT had recorded year-on-year growth for every year since its founding in 2007, except in 2015, which saw a dip in volumes from 1.02 million TEU in 2014, to 895,749TEU.
DCT has developed into a Baltic cargo hub having developed its infrastructure so that it can now handle, since 2013, ultra-large container ships, with today’s vessels with capacities in excess of 20,000TEU now able to call at Gdansk.
Since the completion of the new terminal in October 2016 capacity at DCT doubled to 3 million TEU, some of that capacity remains unused as container handling has diminished through this year.
Meanwhile, bulk volumes at the port have bounced back as ore imports increased more than 6,000%, compensating for dips in fuel, coal and container volumes.
Overall, the Port of Gdansk said, “It expects to handle more than 48 million tonnes of cargo in 2020, retaining its position as one of Europe’s fastest growing ports despite the disruption to global trade caused by the coronavirus crisis.”
Nick Savvides
Managing Editor
