With Jacek Sadaj, president of the Port of Gdynia Authority, we talk about 2021 and the port's centenary, which falls in 2022, as well as completed and ongoing investments.
2021 was a very successful year for
the Port of Gdynia – another transshipment record was set and an
intensive investment process was underway. How do you evaluate this
year?
2021 was a good year
for Polish ports. Polish ports handled a total of 113,124.9 thousand
tonnes of cargo, which was 8.9% higher result than in 2020 and 4.5%
higher than in 2019. Very large increases were recorded especially in
the handling of liquid fuels (+6.2 million tonnes, which translated
into a 30.6% increase) and general cargo (+4.7 million tonnes,
+9.0%). In addition, growth also occurred in timber handling (+0.2
million tonnes, +120.8%).
What influenced your transshipment
performance in the previous year? What groups of goods had the
greatest impact?
The total
number of transshipments in the Port of Gdynia in 2021 increased by
8.2 percent, to 26,693 thousand tons. Container transshipments
amounted to a record 985,919 TEUs, an increase of 8.9 percent over
the previous year. The Port recorded the largest increases in the
general cargo category – an increase of 14.9 percent to 16,207
thousand tons – and oil and petroleum products – up 42 percent
more, totaling 2,516 thousand tons. In 2021, 4240 merchant ships
called at Gdynia, which means an increase of 14.7 percent. 19 of
these ships were container vessels over 300 meters long.
How have you adapted to working in
pandemic conditions? Is Covid-19 still having a real impact on port
and terminal performance?
The
pandemic showed how important seaports are to the economy. During the
pandemic, the Port of Gdynia did not have a single day of downtime,
it worked around the clock 24 hours a day and fully serviced ships
and their cargoes.
Do you have any specific targets set
for 2022 in terms of transshipments? What volume would you like to
achieve?
We are very
optimistic about the transshipment forecasts for 2022. All economic
forecasts point to the continuation of economic growth in Poland,
which should directly translate into further increase in
transshipments in the Port of Gdynia. Ongoing, planned and completed
infrastructural investments are aimed at preparing the Port of Gdynia
to handle increased cargo turnover. In accordance with the principle
that the supply of port services should be ahead of the expected
growing demand, we prepare in advance further investments.
Sanctions on Russia have become an
important part of European trade in 2022. Many companies, also from
the maritime industry, have resigned from cooperation with Moscow. Is
there a chance that Polish ports, including Gdynia, will take over
some of the cargoes, which were previously transshipped in Russian
ports?
The reloading
capacity of the port of Gdynia is 38 million tons. The transshipments
in 2021 reached 26.7 million tons, so the current year's reserve of
reloading capacity, understood as a wide offer for cargo from/to
Ukraine, is at the level of more than 11 million tons.
However, a
prerequisite for an effective offer for handling Ukrainian cargo is
an effective land access infrastructure to Polish seaports, including
in particular rail transport starting from the border points with
Ukraine. Regardless of possible changes in the long run, we must be
prepared as a port to handle any cargo and any vessel, which means
the necessity of continuous investment in port infrastructure
development.
A lot of investments were completed
in the Port of Gdynia last year, some of them are still in progress.
One of them is dredging of port basins – at what stage are the
works in progress?
The Port
of Gdynia, as an important node of the trans-European transport
network, is a natural extension of the Baltic Adriatic Corridor
towards Scandinavia, connecting Poland with Sweden via the Gdynia –
Karlskrona seaway. The Port, together with its long-standing partners
from Sweden, wishes to develop cooperation and more effectively
combine the economic potential of Scandinavia and Central and Eastern
Europe. Investment works in the Port of Gdynia continue. In March,
the project entitled "Construction of port infrastructure for
reception of sanitary waste from ships in the Port of Gdynia"
was completed.
The big event was the completion of
the public ferry terminal. Originally the ferry lines declared
readiness to sail to Gdynia from the beginning of the year, but
otherwise we know that they are preparing for the summer. Why this
change? What is happening at the terminal at the moment?
In
September last year, the construction process of the terminal,
resulting from the project co-financed from the structural funds of
the European Union, was completed and the closing conference –
"Completion of the investment project under the name
Construction of Public Ferry Terminal in the Port of Gdynia" –
was held as required. The ceremony was not about the opening of the
terminal, but about the completion of the project and the end of
construction. Such closing conferences are an inseparable element of
conducting the investments co-financed from the European Union
budget.
Currently Stena Line is conducting preparatory works on
the terminal. As part of the ongoing work, further test approaches of
the vessels have just been completed along with the use of
infrastructure. All works including additional terminal equipment, in
accordance with the shipowners' requirements, have been planned and
are being carried out in such a way as to enable the timely reception
of some of the largest ferries on the Baltic Sea in regular shipping.
The planned date of commissioning of the Public Ferry Terminal for
passenger traffic for Stena Line is June 2022.
There has also been a lot of
activity on the topic of land access to the port – both rail and
road. How do these routes look at the moment and how will they change
in the coming months?
The
Port of Gdynia, as a node of the TEN-T core network and the entry
point of the Baltic – Adriatic corridor, offers comprehensive
intermodal services in port terminals of unitized cargo. Container
transshipments in the Port of Gdynia are constantly increasing (in
2021 they reached the level of almost one million TEUs), therefore
intermodal transport, being highly specialized, must be based on
proper infrastructure. In Gdynia, investments are being implemented
and prepared to improve the capacity of the railroad system, i.e. the
last mile, which will contribute to the increase in demand for rail
transport, especially container transport. Currently, PKP PLK is
extending the Gdynia Port station, which will be fully electrified,
and Port of Gdynia Authority S.A. and the Maritime Office in Gdynia
are preparing the Port of Gdynia to service container ships with
Baltmax parameters (up to 400 m in length and over 20,000 TEU of load
capacity). The entire railroad infrastructure and subgrade were
verified in terms of strength, increasing the load from 20 tons/axle
to 22.5 tons/axle. The tracks in the areas of basins III, IV and V,
as well as in the container area, were also rebuilt in order to
achieve the allowable pressures of 22.5 tonnes/axle. The
electrification of the access infrastructure to the container area
(Helskie Quay) has also been completed, along with the automation of
traffic through train traffic control systems.
The Port of
Gdynia has connections with the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.
It should be noted that the cargo potential of the Polish transit
facilities is concentrated in the countries of Central and Eastern
Europe (CEE), i.e. the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria,
Belarus, Ukraine and Romania. Intermodal operators and rail carriers
launch connections between ports and inland terminals, which form the
Baltic – Adriatic transport corridors. The Port of Gdynia Authority
S.A. implements the project entitled "Integration of the port
with the hinterland, with particular emphasis on intermodal
terminals". The project is included in the Baltic – Adriatic
Corridor Work Plan; the subject of the contract is to commission
"Analysis of possible locations for open-access rail service
infrastructure, i.e. rail intermodal terminals, also with the
possibility of performing the function of external port gates for the
Port of Gdynia. The analytical and conceptual phase is carried out,
among others, under the contract signed by Port of Gdynia Authority
S.A. with PKP S.A., PKP PLK S.A. and PKP Cargo.
New intermodal connections integrating the region's economies are possible thanks to the modernisation of railroad lines. The line no. 201 is part of the international railroad line C-65 – the main freight route directly connecting the Port of Gdynia with Silesia. Since 2012, it has been part of the Polish part of the EU Rail Freight Corridor No. 5, and as an access to the port it is recognised by the European Commission as important for the Baltic Sea – Adriatic Sea Corridor. It is as important for the national economy as it is for the safety and organization of rail transport in Tricity. With the current volume of passenger and freight traffic in the Tricity node, the modernization of railroad line No. 201 will ensure basic access to the Port of Gdynia.
There was also an idea to create a
hydrogen hub in the Port of Gdynia. This kind of investments will be
more and more desired because more and more vessels will need
alternative fuels. What exactly is the idea of the hydrogen hub and
when can we expect the first hydrogen installations?
The
main goals of the Polish Energy Policy until 2040 (PEP2040) include
guaranteeing energy security of the country while ensuring
competitiveness of the economy, energy efficiency and reducing the
impact of the energy sector on the environment, and one of its
pillars is a zero-emission fuel and energy system. It is important to
note that key elements of PEP2040 include the development of energy
technologies, including hydrogen technologies. Therefore, we monitor
the development of the fuel and energy industry and take appropriate
actions to seek solutions to reduce emissions from means of
transport, handling equipment and cargo handling equipment both
within the Port of Gdynia and in the port region. We are successively
implementing projects related to fuel and energy transformation,
which concern, among others: alternative fuels, renewable energy
sources, electromobility and broadly understood digitalization of
investment processes and real estate management.
In 2020 a working group was established consisting of representatives of various entities interested in participating in the development of hydrogen economy on the Polish coast (including local government and representatives of various companies), whose members meet regularly, exchange views, initiatives, inform each other about issues important to the development of hydrogen economy.
In 2021 Port of Gdynia
Authority S.A. became a member of the association Hydrogen
Technologies Cluster. The aim of the cluster is to create a platform
for cooperation between entities interested in the implementation of
hydrogen technologies, development of research and promotion of
solutions for hydrogen technologies. Within the association, project
proposals are currently being developed and consortia specializing in
the development of hydrogen technologies are being created.
In
2021 in Warsaw we signed a sectoral agreement for the development of
hydrogen economy in Poland. The agreement aims to integrate entities
from different sectors, which will create a network of links to
develop the value chain of the hydrogen economy, as well as to build
a competitive advantage of Polish companies and create many modern
jobs.
In 2022, a representative of the Port of Gdynia Authority SA
became a member of the Coordinating Council for the Maritime Economy
at the Ministry of Climate and Environment.
ZMPG SA participates
in the implementation of various international projects, including
the Green Corridor, which aims to explore the possibility of using
alternative fuels in shipping, including zero-emission solutions. In
this project, apart from Port of Gdynia Authority S.A. representing
the entities forming the port services supply center in Gdynia, the
seaports of Rotterdam, Hamburg, Roenne and Tallinn participate.
Currently, the initial phase in stage one is being carried out,
consisting of the preparation of assumptions for the concept and
feasibility study of the project regarding the development of
alternative fuels.
We are acting as a link between the demand and supply side of the hydrogen fuel market with the aim of creating a so-called local hydrogen hub. This initiative will enable the production, distribution and use of green hydrogen, a zero-emission fuel. Already today, both seaport authorities in various countries and transshipment terminal operators are developing fuel and energy strategies related to the pursuit of zero-emission, including the use of green hydrogen, so it seems that the role of hydrogen as a fuel will increase (already today it is called the fuel of the future by specialists).
The year 2022 is extremely important
for the Port of Gdynia – this year the port celebrates its 100th
anniversary. What can we expect on this occasion?
The
year 2022 is very important for the Port of Gdynia, but also for the
entire maritime economy. On September 23, 1922 the Seym of the
Republic of Poland passed the act on the construction of the port in
Gdynia – and this date is considered its formal beginning, while in
the Port of Gdynia we celebrate the anniversary all year round.
We
started the jubilee year by cooperating with a young artist from
Gdynia, Jan Rutka, who prepared a unique poster depicting the
fascinating story of 100 years of the Port of Gdynia. We want the
works prepared for the Gdynia Port Centennial to reach a wider
audience, and we intend to auction one of them for the benefit of the
children's hospice Bursztynowa Przystań.
In the Museum of the
City of Gdynia you can admire the unique birthday exhibition
"Morze/Miasto/Port" („Sea/City/Port”), showing the
image of Gdynia's port in art, 100 works for the 100th anniversary of
the port. The artists, fascinated with the element and grandeur of
the great construction site, captured especially the first decades of
the Gdynia investment, but the exhibition will also include
contemporary representations.
On May 2nd, we also officially
started the sailing season, which marks the beginning of all water
sports competitions, but not only. In June, the Port of Gdynia, as
the port of sailing ships, is the main partner of the VIth Sailing
Day Parade during the Gdynia Maritime Days, as well as the only ONE
Terminal Run Gdynia Hutchison Ports.
It has become a tradition
that the Port of Gdynia Authority S.A. on its birthday prepares a
gift with the local community in mind, hence the residents of Gdynia
are in for a lot of attractions in September.
This year, from the New Public Ferry Terminal will depart the largest ferries on the Baltic Sea –Stena Line' E-flexer class with a length of 240 m. 100 years of the existence of the Port of Gdynia is a time of constant changes and improvement of the infrastructure that is to serve the Polish maritime economy and future generations.
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