Klaipėda port handled 18mn tons of cargo in H1

Regardless of losing some freight volume due to sanctions on Russia and Belarus, Lithuania’s Klaipėda seaport still handled 18 million tons cargo in the first half of 2022 year-on-year, by 18% or 3.9 million tons less compared with 22 million tons in the first half of 2021. Based on the cargo handling volume, Klaipėda port ranked fourth among the ports on the eastern coastline of the Baltic Sea.

Director General of Klaipėda State Seaport Algis Latakas says the port managed to offset losses in sanctioned goods quite successfully and the growing flow of container cargo highlights the port’s attractiveness for cargo shipping by sea.

In January-June 2022, general cargo handling increased by 17.9% to 8.9 million tons year-on-year and this segment accounted for nearly half of all cargo handled.

The general cargo segment consists of container, ro-ro, iron and steel cargo, as well as metal constructions and frozen cargo. According to Klaipėda State Seaport Authority, container cargo handling increased the most, by 64.5% in the first half of 2022 year-on-year.

Meanwhile, liquid cargo handling rose by 5.6% or 197,981 tons to 3.7 million tons, but bulk cargo handling dropped by 50.8% to 5.3 million tons.

In the first half of this year, 2,739 vessels sailed to Klaipėda port, a decrease of 14.8%. However, the number of passengers increased by 54.8% to 114,655 compared with the identical period of 2021.