Ostuferhafen dominates port handling

The Ostuferhafen was once again the Port of Kiel's biggest cargo handling facility in 2010, turning over more than 3 million tons for the first time ever. DFDS Seaways currently offers seven departures per week and direction to and from the Baltic and Russia using three modern ferry ships. At the beginning of January, the "Tor Baltica" was replaced on the Kiel-St Petersburg route by the bigger and younger "Tor Botnia", built in 2000 and of 1,900 lane metres. The move has added even more clout to the service, which began operating 20 years ago this year. Against the background of growing cargo volumes, the Port of Kiel is planning medium-term expansion of the Ostuferhafen's operational area. An application for planning permission at the adjacent Ortopedia site is being prepared.

In the passenger handling sector, Kiel is posting another top result with just about two million passengers handled overall. The number of ferry passengers rose by 4.1 % to 1.55 million. By far the most passengers, more than a million, were carried on the Kiel-Oslo route. This was the best result in Color Line's 50 year history of liner services to and from Kiel.