Sea Port of Saint-Petersburg handled 6.9 mln t of cargo in 2017, up 4% Y-oY
In 2017, Sea Port of Saint-Petersburg JSC (SP SPb, a company of UCL Holding) handled 6.9 mln t of cargo, up 4%, year-on-year. According to the company, the growth was driven by increased transportation of general and containerized cargo.
SP SPb increased transshipment of general cargo by 1% to 6.3 mln t. In particular, transshipment of ferrous metal grew by 20% to 3.6 mln t with increased shipments of steel to the port from iron and steel works, clients of SP SPb. Besides, the company attracted a new large steel exporter – EVRAZ NTMK JSC. To meet the growing cargo flow the company has held a large scale renovation of the port infrastructure including modernization and construction of new storage facilities for general cargo, repair of approaches and renovation of equipment. In the result, SP SPb could intensify transshipment of ferrous metal.
With the two new sheltered warehouses put into operation by Sea Port of Saint-Petersburg, handling of wood pellets surged by 35% to 294,000 t. Availability of port infrastructure required for transshipment of pellets let exporters increase their shipments through engaging new Russian manufacturers and expanding their footprint in the rising market of biofuel in Europe.
In the reporting period, SP SPB slightly decreased transshipment of non-ferrous metal (by 9% to 1.4 mln t) and metal scrap (by 8% to 600,000 t) due to reduced exports by suppliers of this cargo.
In 2017, the flow of mineral fertilizers in big bags remained at the level of the previous year — more than 270,000 t. Meanwhile, transshipment of bulk mineral fertilizers plunged three times to 39,000 t because of its shifting to dedicated terminals of the Baltic Sea.
Total transshipment of dry bulk cargo via the berths of the company decreased by 8%, year-on-year, to 226,000 t.
In the reporting period, considerable growth (by 60%) was demonstrated in the segment of container handling – to 33,644 TEUs, or 295,000 t. The growth should be attributed to the development of a container service offering not only standard transshipment operations but also additional container handling options. Container line Sea Connect operates at Sea Port of Saint-Petersburg from December 2016.
In 2017, SP SPb was also handling project, oversized and overweight cargo, freight for agricultural industry, timber, food, RO-RO cargo and other types of cargo which showed mixed dynamics amid different market situations.
Total exports from SP SPb grew by 6% to 6.5 mln t while imports fell by 12%* to 0.4 mln t. Exports accounted for 94% of the company’s total throughput, imports — for 6%.
Sea Port of Saint-Petersburg JSC (a company of UCL Port – stevedoring division of the International Transportation Group UCL Holding) is the largest operator, rendering services on handling of all types of dry cargoes at Big Port St. Petersburg. It operates modern multipurpose specialized terminals for handling of general and bulk cargoes and specialized terminals for ro-ro cargoes and containers.