On Monday, January 23, at 12:00 at the headquarters of the Ministry of Infrastructure, a conference began at which the transshipment results of Polish ports of strategic importance to the state economy - the Port of Gdańsk, the Ports of Szczecin-Świnoujście and the Port of Gdynia - were presented.

During the conference, detailed information and statistics from port operations in 2022 were presented. It is already known that in terms of results it is a very good year, which was influenced by the economy and investments in ports, but also external factors, such as the war in Ukraine.

Deputy Infrastructure Minister Marek Gróbarczyk was the first to speak.

- We broke another record extremely spectacularly - began Gróbarczyk.

The ports handled a total of 133 million tons, an increase of 18 percent over the previous year.

- Last year showed how important Polish ports are, what role they play in terms of energy security - Gróbarczyk said. - What was done last year shows how much potential there is and how good the organization is.

Compared to 2008, 154 percent more tons of cargo were handled in Polish ports last year. With the exception of 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic began, better results were realized in Polish ports every year.

Gróbarczyk thanked the port boards. He mentioned that Prime Minister Morawiecki held meetings on an ongoing basis in which port boards actively participated. He also spoke about operators carrying out port operations. - A huge thank you to all those who realized transshipments. Not only related to energy, because it's not only coal, gas carriers and tankers, but the whole energy-related element today depends on ports - Gróbarczyk said.

The presentation of the Port of Gdańsk, led by Łukasz Greinke, president of the Port of Gdańsk Authority, began with a short video about the port.

This year's transshipment result at the Port of Gdańsk is 68.2 million tons, an increase of 28% and +15 million tons compared to 2022.

Łukasz Greinke said that Gdańsk is the No. 2 port in the Baltic, overtaken only by Russia's Ust-Luga, but this could change due to the Russian oil embargo.

Liquid fuels accounted for the largest volume in Gdańsk's transshipments (+35.1% is 25,516 thousand tons), coal also recorded an increase of 175.6%, timber transshipments increased by 413% and ore transshipments by 133.2%.

- Gentle declines were recorded in the group of containerized general cargo - less than 2%. The embargo on goods diverted to Russia had a large impact on this decline - Greinke said. - This funnel was supplemented by goods in containers to Ukraine. This way of packing goods is the most versatile. Trade between the countries due to the difference in track width is desirable.

Grain transshipments increased by 19 percent - more than 2 million tons were transshipped, which is a record for the Port of Gdańsk.

- Our ability to store goods has improved, operators are rearming with new equipment. The next year will be even more rewarding - Greinke announced.

Ore handling has also changed - previously it was mainly imports, but now due to the war in Ukraine, iron ore is also exported from Gdańsk.

Greinke said that the 2022 estimate, which oscillated around 60 million tons, has been exceeded. The Port of Gdańsk is the second port in the Baltic in terms of cargo handling and the largest container port in the Baltic. The port also records the highest growth rate in Europe.

- We are the only window for importing raw materials to our refineries. Of great importance were the investments made by the port primarily in the Inner Port. There we realized transshipments of 15 million tons, while usually it was 9 million.

The Baltic Hub container terminal handled 2.1 million TEUs.

Since 2016, various stakeholders of the Port of Gdańsk have made investments amounting to nearly PLN 5 billion. Another PLN 4 billion are already planned and will be implemented in the near future. The largest project - the expansion of the Baltic Hub container terminal - is already underway.

The Port of Szczecin-Świnoujście was represented by Vice President Daniel Stachiewicz. The presentation also began with a video.

The ports of Szczecin and Świnoujście handled 36.8 million tons, 10.8% more than in the previous year. A total of 6,665 ships called at the ports, their total tonnage increased by 4.6%.

- The 36.8 million tons shows that the Szczecin-Świnoujście port complex was ranked 5th among ports in the Baltic, Stachiewicz said.

Coal transshipments increased by 50.8%, fuels by 42.5%, while LNG transshipments in Świnoujście increased by 54.6%.

- Last year, 4.4 million tons of gas were unloaded there. Last year, these largest gas carriers called at Świnoujście 58 times, that's 23 more than in 2021. The plan for 2023 is more than 60 gas carriers. As the Port Authority, we are prepared for this. Our partner who is responsible for operations at the base is also completing investments that will allow us to handle more than 8 billion cubic meters of gas in 2023, which is about one-third of the gas needed to supply our economy - commented the vice president of the Szczecin and Świnoujście Seaports Authority.

In 2022, operators from Szczecin and Świnoujście actively participated in receiving imported coal. Stachiewicz mentioned investments being made at the ferry base in Świnoujście, which will allow an increase in the volume transported between Poland and Scandinavia.

Last year, the ports of Szczecin and Świnoujście were "two shiploads" short of breaking the record, while in 2022 it was clearly beaten.

- Before the weekend, I received the preliminary financial data for 2022. The balance sheet total exceeded by the Szczecin and Świnoujście Seaports Authority is 3 billion. Less than 3 years ago it was 1.4 billion. The growth generated at the cargo level is supported by increasing the value of national assets, because such assets are ports - Stachiewicz said.

Stachiewicz also spoke briefly about investments in ports. The expansion of the gas port is underway, there will be an additional position for receiving gas. There will also be an Orlen installation terminal for offshore wind farms and a deep-water container terminal in Świnoujście. It will also be used for transshipment of military equipment. Work is also underway to deepen the waterway to Szczecin to 12.5 meters.

Stachiewicz also thanked the port's operators and employees.

- I would like these increases to continue, but I don't know if they will be so spectacular - he concluded.

Jacek Sadaj, president of the Port of Gdynia Authority, then entered the rostrum. The presentation also began with a video.

Jacek Sadaj began by reminding the audience that the Port of Gdynia celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2022.

In 2022, the Port of Gdynia handled 28.2 million tons, 6% more than the previous year. This is more than 91% more than in 2013. Sadaj mentioned that an agreement was signed with ICTSI, which will continue handling containers in Gdynia for 30 years.

The largest increases were recorded by the coal and coke group (3.4 million tons, 174% more than in 2022). Timber transshipments also increased (109.1% more, totaling 533.5 thousand tons) and other bulk (0.42% more, 1,716.2 thousand tons). Jacek Sadaj says grain transshipments have increased significantly, and further investments are expected to further increase capacity in this group. A tender for a grain terminal operator will be awarded in the near future.

4,331 vessels called at Gdynia, on average larger than in previous years. On average, a container ship over 300 meters visited Gdynia every 2 weeks. The average tonnage of ships in the port also increased. By 8% more ferries called at Gdynia - their number was 1,016. The average tonnage of bulk carriers increased by 23%, the tonnage of container ships increased by 13%, and the calls of ro-ro ships increased by 32%.