Gdansk Bulk Terminal expands its capacity
In August, at the Port's Gdansk Bulk Terminal docked the largest ever bulk cargo ship - the M/V Rising, witha displacement of almost 19 000 DWT, which arrived with a shipment of barley amounting to 13,500 tonnes. This vessel could be serviced thanks to the new investments at the terminal. Port of Gdansk Authority says. To meet market demand, the GBT took the decision to extend the mooring line at the Bytomskie Quay to a length of 190 meters and deepen the base to a depthof 7.9 meters, thus ensuring the capability to handle larger ships than ever before - up to 15 000 DWT as well as vessels not carrying a full load up to 25 000 DWT.
GBT is a thriving terminal at the Port of Gdansk, which is the result of an agreement between Malteurop Polska, belonging to the Malteurop group - one of the world's largest producers of malt and the Copenhagen Merchants Company - a leading international grains broker.
The terminal situated at the Bytomskie quay is one of the newest investments at the Port of Gdansk. Established in 2011, the company in just one year managed to build a modern bulk terminal. In 2014 the GBT took the decision to expand its cargo handling capacity by adding another storage facility. At present the terminal has a fully automated flat warehouse as well as 10 silos with a total capacity of 55,000 tonnes. The terminal is additionally equipped with comprehensive technology for grain drying and cleaning equipment for pre-cleaning, as well as a modern laboratory to perform precise analyses of grains upon request.
An undoubted advantage of the terminal is its logistical capabilities, which include a railway siding equipped with a fullyautomated system for loading and unloading, a container loading system and a line for loading big bags. Access is facilitated by the rapid connection with the Gdansk southern ring road.
The Gdansk Bulk Terminal is a dynamically developing transshipment partner at the Port of Gdansk, matching the expectations of their customers and constantly improving their services.
For the record, last year at the Port of Gdansk a substantial grain tonnage of over 1.6 million was handled - the best result in history. Given the global forecasts regarding the production and trade of grain, it can be expected that the coming years in the Port of Gdansk will bring equally good results in handling grain. If we take into account that, at present, Poland is the fourth producer of grain in the EU, second only to France in terms of grain farming area and the fourth largest exporter of grain and that transshipment via Polish ports account for as much as 90% of the country's total foreign trade in grain, one can expect further interest in the shipment of this cargo group at various ports.
Investments made by the Gdansk Bulk Terminal are a response to the positive market forecasts and the growing interest in the transport of grain via Polish ports.
