The 1st quarter of 2020 at the Port of Gdansk shows the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the maritime industry and the volume of goods handled at the port. In the 1st quarter of 2020, the Port of Gdansk achieved a result lower by 8.3% than in the same period of 2019, concluding the 1st quarter with transshipments at the level of 11.3 million tonnes. Decreases were recorded in most cargo groups, apart from grain (+223%), LPG (+27%), and other bulk cargo (+6.4%), the port says in its press release.
The following year-on-year decreases were recorded in the remaining cargo groups: fuels (-16.8%), coal (-27.5%), general cargo (-1.2%), containers (-2.1%), Ro-Ro (-23.8%).
In the 1st quarter of 2020, no cargo from the timber and ore groups was handled. The transshipment structure in the 1st quarter of 2020 was as follows: liquid bulk cargo: 29.7%, dry bulk cargo: 23.8%, general cargo: 46.5%.
In the 1st quarter of 2020, the number of commercial vessel calls at the Port of Gdansk was 764, which was an increase by 17 calls compared to the same period of 2019. At the same time, a lower average ship gross volume was recorded in 2020 than in the 1st quarter of 2019, primarily due to the lower number of calls of ocean container ships in March.
After the 1st quarter of 2020, the largest European port, the Port of Rotterdam, recorded a year-on-year decrease at the level of -9.3%, and the second largest European port, Antwerp, a year-on-year increase of +4%. The phenomenon of the spreading coronavirus epidemic, which is reaching an increasing part of the world in terms of its territorial scope, has had an impact on the entire global economy and trade, reversing previous market trends and thus disrupting the established forecasts.
After summing up the 1st quarter of 2020, in spite of the decrease in the container transshipment volume, the Port of Gdansk still ranks second in the Baltic Sea in this category. It is only 87,557 TEU behind the leader in container transport in the Baltic Sea, the Port of St. Petersburg, which handled 561,950 TEU within the same period. In the 1st quarter of 2020, a lower volume of Ro-Ro cargo was recorded at the Port of Gdansk, with a year-on-year decrease of 24%, mainly due to a lower number of commercial vehicles. Ferry Ro-Ro cargo, however, remains at a similar level to last year, having recorded a year-on-year decrease of only 1.5%.