Freight flows passing through the Big Port St. Petersburg in January-March 2011 grew by 5% over the same period of 2010, to 11,805,200 tons, the BPSPb Port Authority said. Container traffic totaled 512,526 TEUs versus 394,206 TEUs in Q1, 2010.
In the reporting period the volume of coal exports at the Big Port of St. Petersburg slumped 75% to 137,400 tons, handling of fertilizer fell 3% to about 1 million tons, shipment of ferrous metals totaled 889,100 tons (-17%), non-ferrous metals – 329,900 tons (-12%), exports of metal scrap rose by 13% to 179,000 tons, the volume of refrigerated cargoes increased by 29% to 810,200, transshipment of petroleum products slightly fell to 2,461,400 tons (-1%).
In March, freight traffic at the port fell by 11% to 3,864,300 tons. Monthly container trade amounted to 184,000 TEUs vs 159,000 TEUs a year earlier.
Port of St. Petersburg is located on the islands of the delta of the Neva river, in the Neva Bay, the eastern tip of the Gulf of Finland. The Big Port St. Petersburg territory includes the Neva River delta and the Neva Bay, Kronstadt and dam structures. Port of St. Petersburg operates a fleet of diesel-powered icebreakers escorting cargo ships during winter navigation. There are 30 stevedore companies operating at the port. In 2010, the port handled 9,227 vessels and 58,480,600 tons of cargo, a 15.2% growth year-over-year.