The terminals operated by Commercial Sea Port of Ust-Luga JSC (Multipurpose Terminal YUG-2 and Auto-Railway Ferry Terminal) handled 3.550 mln t of cargo in 2016, says the stevedoring company.
The highest results were achieved in transshipment of metal (555,730 t), mineral fertilizers (1.410 mln t) and sawn timber – 190,000 cbm.
The statement marks a record high number of calls – in 2016 the terminals handled almost 700 vessels.
The past year saw the expansion of the terminal’s handling equipment fleet: the terminal received the second part of devices for transshipment of steel plates and large diameter pipes. Multi Tool Crane is intended for vacuum hoisting of plates and pipes.
According to Mikhail Talanenko, General Director of the company, vacuum hoist technology prevents cargo damage in the process of transshipment and ensures safety of personnel during loading/unloading operations. “This equipment considerably increases our competitiveness in transshipment of such cargoes”, he added.
The new equipment was immediately involved in operations. In November 2016 the port handled the first batch of steel plates intended for production of large diameter pipes (for the underwater part of the Nord Stream).
Well developed railway infrastructure is a key competitive advantage of CSP Ust-Luga. Five new rail tracks with total length of 3.6 km appeared were built at the terminal in 2016. CSP Ust-Luga now has 13 rail tracks of 7.2 km in length. The capacity of the port’s railway infrastructure - 4.5 mln t per year. This year will see the construction of three more tracks (2.3 km) and RMG crane track.
On 22 September 2016, Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (Germany), and Mikhail Talanenko, Director General of Commercial Sea Port of Ust-Luga (Russia, Leningrad Region), OJSC signed a Memorandum of Understanding, a document targeted at development of trade and economic relations between Russia and Germany. The newly signed document marked the five years of Kiel – Ust-Luga ferry service. Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the Port of Kiel, said: “Compared to the long trucking routes, transport by sea across the Baltic is economically and ecologically advantageous. Intermodal transport chains via Kiel and Ust-Luga also have potential.”
On 9 December 2016, Commercial Sea Port of Ust-Luga confirmed its membership of the Baltic Ports Organization (BPO). Ust-Luga is thus the only Russian port to join BPO which includes the most significant ports in the nine countries surrounding the Baltic Sea. Among them are Stockholm, Copenhagen, Kiel, Turku, Kotka etc. The Baltic Ports Organization is a regional ports organization inspiring and supporting its members while cooperating pro-actively with relevant partners. BPO was established on October 10, 1991, in Copenhagen, with an aim to facilitate cooperation among the ports and to monitor and improve the possibilities for shipping in the Baltic Sea region. The organization's mission is to contribute to economic, social and environmental sustainable development of maritime transport and the port industry in the Baltic Sea region, thereby strengthening its global competitiveness.
Commercial Sea Port of Ust-Luga OJSC is a stevedoring company operating multipurpose terminal YUG-2 and Auto-Railway Ferry Terminal.
Ust-Luga port is situated practically at the border of the Russian Federation and the European Union. The deep water area of the port (17.5 m) together with the approach channel (3.7 km) make Ust-Luga the only Russian port on the Baltic Sea able to accommodate dry-cargo vessels with the deadweight of up to 75,000 tonnes and liquid cargo carriers with the deadweight of up to 160,000 tonnes.