The Russian container terminal operator Global Ports has reported a stable container throughput during the fourth quarter and the fiscal year (FY) 2021.
In particular, Global Port’s consolidated marine container throughput recorded a marginal decline of 0.9% year-on-year, with 385,000 TEU handled in its terminals.
Ust-Luga Container Terminal (ULCT), the first greenfield container terminal in Russia, located in Luga Bay, registered the largest year-on-year decrease of 35.8% in container traffic during Q4, while it moved 6,000 TEU.
During the same period, First Container Terminal (FCT) in the Port of Saint Petersburg also marked a downtrend of 9.2% in box volumes compared to 2020’s Q4. The terminal, however, proceeded 154,000 TEU, which is the largest amount of cargo among all Global Port’s terminals.
At the same time, Petrolesport (PLP), Global Port’s port located in Saint Petersburg, achieved an increase of almost 15% by handling 98,000 TEU.
Regarding Vostochnaya Stevedoring Company (VSC), the largest container terminal in the Far East Region of the Russian Federation located in the Russian Port Vostochny, it reached 127,000 TEU, which translates to an increase of 2.3% compared to the previous year’s Q4.
Global Ports officials explained that this “slowed down” performance in Q4 for VSC, is due to the fact that the terminal operated in an environment of “exceptionally high and rapidly changing demand dynamics,” whilst undergoing a strategic transition back to a 100% container dedicated facility using advanced terminal operating software.
As for the Global Ports’ consolidated marine container throughput during 2021, it presented a growth of 2.8% compared to 2020, while FCT, PLP, VSC and ULCT handled 1,576,000 TEU in total.
Albert Likholet, CEO of Global Ports Management, commented on the group’s performance, “2021 was a very strong year for infrastructure, logistics and growth across all segments enabled the Russian container market to set a new record in volumes.”
