Less cargo and fewer passengers

In the first six months of 2009, a total of 10.9 million gross tonnes of cargo was moved through the Rostock Port. This represents a year-on-year decrease of 22 %, or 3.1 million tonnes. Cargo throughput at the Rostock Seaport accounted for 10.2 million tonnes of this total. A cargo throughput volume of 700,000 tonnes collectively – down 100,000 tonnes from 2008’s first half-year results - was recorded by the other port facilities of Rostock including the Cargo and Fisheries Port, and the Yara Chemicals Port. With a total of 922,000 passengers, a decrease in ferry passengers was also recorded in the first half-year of 2009. This figure represents a year-on-year decrease of 140,000.
“The shipping industry and seaborne cargo transport have been severely affected by the world-wide economic crisis. The Federal Office of Statistics reports a decrease in cargo throughput of around one-fifth in German ports in the first quarter of 2009. Rostock is no exception”, comments Ulrich Bauermeister, Managing Director of Hafen-Entwicklungsgesellschaft Rostock, the owner and operator of the Rostock Seaport. “Shipping traffic in one of the world’s most important waterways, the Kiel Canal, showed a drastic decrease of around one-third in the first half-year of 2009. This is an indicator of the difficult situation of the entire maritime industry.”
 
Rostock Seaport
Rolling cargo in ferry and Ro-Ro traffic accounted for 5.9 million tonnes, or 58 % of the total cargo volume of 10.2 million tonnes at the Rostock Seaport in the first half-year of 2009. This represents a considerable year-on-year decrease of 2.5 million tonnes, or 30 %.
In the bulk goods segment, a throughput volume of 4.3 million tonnes of dry bulk, liquid and general cargoes was recorded. This represents a decrease of 400,000 tonnes, or 9 %, compared with the previous year’s first half-year results. “The damage to the coal-fired power plant at the Rostock Seaport in January, and the delays in the repairs which lasted until mid-May, resulted in losses in coal throughput of 400,000 tonnes at the Seaport.
If it hadn’t been for this failure of the power plant, the cargo volume in the bulk goods segment would have been on par with 2008’s first half-year results”, remarks Ulrich Bauermeister.
A total of 3,809 ferries, Ro-Ro vessels, cargo ships and cruise ships were cleared in the first half year of 2009 at the Rostock Seaport and Cruise Port in Warnemünde. Ferries accounted for 2,724 vessels of this total.
152,140 trucks (accompanied units) were carried on the five ferry connections and three Ro-Ro connections to and from Denmark, Sweden Finland, England and Latvia. This represents a year-on-year decrease of around one-third. Likewise, the unaccompanied units (trailers) decreased by 24 percent to a total of 43,034 units.
The same trend was experienced at the terminal for intermodal traffic: a decrease of cargo units of 10% to 30,671 was recorded for the first half-year of 2009. This figure represents a tonnage of 645,707 tonnes, down 11 % from 2008’s first half-year results of 725,384 tonnes. There are a total of 25 block trains weekly to and from Verona (12), Basel (5), Duisburg/Hamburg (6) and Wels (2).
With a total of 1.7 million tonnes, a decrease of 10 % in the handling of liquid cargoes was recorded in the first half-year of 2009. In particular, the segments of gasoil and fuel oil showed increases, while a decrease was recorded in crude oil handling.
The volume of dry bulk cargo remained steady at 2.5 million tonnes in the first half-year of 2009. A decrease in the handling of coal (down 400,000 tonnes) was recorded, as the coal-fired power plant was not in operation from January to May. Increases in the handling of wheat (up 460,000 tonnes), and barley (up 85,000 tonnes), made up for the losses of coal, and kept the dry bulk segment on par with 2008’s first half-year results.
General cargo throughput decreased substantially by 64 % to 128,000 tonnes. In particular, decreases in the handling of gypsum plaster board (down 100,000 tonnes), zinc (down 12,000 tonnes), cogs (down 9,000 tonnes), and wind energy plants (down 8,000 tonnes) accounted for most of this decrease. Comparatively, the throughput of sheet metal plates (up 14,000 tonnes) and cranes (up 5,000 tonnes) exhibited year-on-year increases.
 
Infrastructure investment by Hafen-Entwicklungsgesellschaft Rostock mbH
Hafen-Entwicklungsgesellschaft is engaging in investment projects with a total volume of 24.5 million Euros in this year. These projects are for the continual expansion and improvement of the infrastructure at the Seaport and Warnemünde Cruise Port. The newbuilding of berth 8 in Warnemünde was completed in spring 2009. Other projects include the construction at berth 37, restoration of the quay area at berth 12 in basin C, the optimisation of the electrical power supply at the Seaport, and the development of additional areas of the port grounds for construction. These infrastructure projects include the 3rd phase of the maritime industrial park with a total gross area of 40 hectares and the newbuilding of two berths at Pier III with a total investment volume of 67 million Euro until the end of 2011; the development of a 4-hectare area in the south end of the port grounds with an investment volume of 2 million Euro; the paving and restructuring of utility supply south of the ferry terminal with an investment volume of around 2 million Euro until the end of 2009.
 
115 visits by 30 cruise ships in Warnemünde
In this year’s cruise season, 30 different cruise ships are calling the port of Rostock-Warnemünde a total of 115 times, bringing over 165,000 international guests to Rostock-Warnemünde. 23 international cruise operators have chosen Rostock as a port-of-call this season. A total of 15 passenger change-overs will be carried out in Rostock by the new club ship AIDAluna of AIDA cruises this year, and partial change-overs will be carried out by the American cruise company Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL). With these passenger change-overs, the total number of cruise passengers cleared in Warnemünde this season will exceed 200,000. The cruise season began on 01 May with the arrival of the 295-meter-long Norwegian Jewel of NCL, and is scheduled to end on 15 December with the pre-Christmas arrival of Black Watch of the English company Fred Olsen. Highlights of this year’s cruise season include 18 double port calls and four triple port calls. The 2009 cruise season welcomes three new arrivals: AIDAluna, Emerald Princess, and Adriana III are calling Warnemünde for the first time.

Source: Transport Weekly