Ust-Luga port’s throughput soars 59.4% to over 6,8m tons
Freight traffic passing through the port of Ust-Luga in January-May 2011 surged by 59.4% compared with the same period of last year, to 6,849,141 tons, the Ust-Luga Company said.
In May, cargo volume handled at the port rose as much as 2.2 times from a year earlier, to 2,260,136.12 tons..
The Company, which is now implementing the port’s expansion project, plans the Ust-Luga to handle annually up to 180 million tons of different cargoes by 2018 (vs 11,8m tons in 2010).
Port of Ust-Luga is located on Russia’s border with the EU. Currently, there are six terminals operating at the port (nine more to be commissioned soon). Overall, by 2018 there will be 19 terminals. The port’s 16-m deep harbor and a short 3.7-km approach canal make Ust-Luga the only Russian port on the Baltic Sea that can accommodate 75,00dwt bulkers and 120,000dwt tankers.
Upon completion of the port’s expansion Ust Luga port will become the terminus of the Baltic Pipeline System 2 (BPS-2). The launch of bunkering facility associated with the BPS2 is scheduled for 2012. In 2010, cargo throughput of Ust-Luga rose year-over-year by 13.7% to 11,78m tons.