Port of Klaipėda

The Port of Klaipėda is a seaport located in Klaipėda, Lithuania. It is one of the few ice-free ports in northernmost Europe, and the second largest European Union port by tonnage in the Baltic.[3] It serves as a port of call for cruise ships as well as freight transport. Regular passenger ferry lines connect to Kiel, Karlshamn, Copenhagen and other European cities.[4]

Port of Klaipėda
Location
CountryLithuania
LocationKlaipėda, Lithuania
Coordinates55.717778°N 21.1125°E / 55.717778; 21.1125
UN/LOCODELTKLJ[1]
Details
Opened1252[2]
Owned byGovernment of Lithuania
Chief Executive OfficerAlgis Latakas
Statistics
Vessel arrivals6 552 (2021)
Annual cargo tonnage45.62 million (2021)
Annual container volume666 775 TEU (2021)
Passenger traffic1076 (2021)
Website
portofklaipeda.lt

History
The old port of Klaipėda in early 20th century

The city of Memel/Klaipėda has been involved in maritime trade as early as the 13th century,[2] and probably during prehistoric times, since it is located on the Amber Road. For several centuries its administration and its merchants defended the port and competed with the Port of Danzig and the Port of Königsberg. It was heavily fortified. At the beginning of the 20th century the port was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Lithuania. Before World War I, the major cargo was timber. During the 20th century, mineral and cellulose enterprises were established in Lithuania, and became port commodities. Infrastructure supporting the fishing and shipbuilding industries were also built.

Current operations
The port of Klaipėda handled more than 46 million tons of cargo in 2018
Ships in the port

In 1991, after Lithuanian independence was declared, the Klaipėda State Seaport Authority was founded. It administers the port and supports its integration into the larger scheme of Lithuanian transport. The Port Authority is responsible for the maintenance, reconstruction and modernisation of the port infrastructure, while loading and unloading operations are managed by separate independent terminals. The port's land and infrastructure belong to the state, but some privatisization is underway.

The Port of Klaipėda is the most northerly ice-free port in the Eastern part of the Baltic Sea. The port can accommodate ships of up to 400 meters in length with draughts of up to 14.3 meters. The port is served by two railway stations and a highways which together link Klaipėda to Kaunas, Vilnius and cities in the nearby countries, such as Minsk, Kyiv and Moscow.

In 1997, 16.13 million tons of cargo were handled at the port, increasing to over 31 million tons in 2010. About 321,000 international passengers transhipped the port of Klaipėda in 2010, on ferries servicing Kiel and Mukran in Germany, Åhus in Sweden, and Copenhagen and Fredericia in Denmark.

In 2015, the Port Authority hired Austrian company Strabag for dredging the shipping channel to the depth of 15 metres.[5] In 2023, the shipping channel was deepened to 15.5 meters. Some of the major companies or objects operating in the port:

Annual cargo turnover, million tonnes[6]
2000200120022003200420052006200720082009
19.4017.2419.7421.1920.2521.7923.6127.3629.8827.86
2010201120122013201420152016201720182019
31.2836.5935.2433.4236.4138.5140.1443.1746.5846.22
20202021
47.7945.62
  • Embankment of the cruise ship terminal
    Embankment of the cruise ship terminal
  • Cargo loading
    Cargo loading
  • Harbor
    Harbor
  • Sea gate
    Sea gate
  • Cruise ship Costa Magica visiting the port
    Cruise ship Costa Magica visiting the port

See also

References
  1. "UNLOCODE (LT) - LITHUANIA". service.unece.org. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  2. "History". Port of Klaipėda. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  3. "Port of Klaipeda maintains strong positions". Lithuanian Ministry of Transport. 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. "www.klaipedainfo.lt". Archived from the original on 2015-09-25. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
  5. "Klaipėdos uosto kanalo gilinimo konkursą laimėjo austrų "Strabag"" (in Lithuanian). Verslo žinios. 2015-04-27. Retrieved 2015-04-27.
  6. "Port statistics". Port of Klaipėda. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
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