More than 2.3 million tons of cargo were loaded or unloaded in the Ostuferhafen, the hub of Kiel’s freight business with east Europe, last year. About three quarters of that moved on fast ferry ship services to
and from St Petersburg and Klaipeda. Shipping volume in the first quarter of this year has, again, also been well above average, recording double-digit growth. In order to meet the demand on the Kiel-St.
Petersburg route, Sovcomflot is replacing the MS “Hamburg” with the much bigger MS “Tolosa” in April.
The Port of Kiel has high hopes for short-sea shipping and has invested a total of 45 million Euros in the expansion of the Ostuferhafen over the last ten years. Commented Dirk Claus: “The Ostuferhafen has been
tailor-made for the demands of east European transport. In addition, it also boasts reserve areas for further expansion”. Along with infrastructures, however, a comprehensive pallet of services is also
indispensable for the success of the Ostuferhafen site. “Our handling company is making some important contributions to this”, says Dirk Claus, adding that “SKSTEVE, Kiel’s own stevedoring company, also offers
reliable and quality service at reasonable rates”. New in the Ostuferhafen since the start of this year have been expanded intermodal transport services and improved IT-supported terminal processes. New
handling equipment has also just been introduced.
The Port of Kiel owns and operates Kiel’s commercial port on behalf of the Schleswig Holstein state capital of Kiel and is a 100% subsidiary company of the City of Kiel. Last year the port handled well over five
million tons of cargo and more than 1.5 million passengers. The port’s hub business sectors are short-sea services with Scandinavia, Russia and the Baltics. Kiel is spending 50 million Euros over the coming three
years in the further expansion of its port facilities.