Upon launch in 1974. Northern Port the volume of transhipped goods in the entire port of Gdańsk increased significantly (in 1978, transshipments exceeded a record 28 million tons). Apart from the so-called old port (along the Martwa Wisła and the port canal), two main bases began operation – coal export and liquid fuel transhipment. In the late 1990s, Gaspol, a liquefied petroleum gas terminal, was added. But the situation changed dramatically when the DCT Gdańsk container terminal (currently Baltic Hub) was built. It was in 2007. Then the port of Gdańsk entered a new era of transshipment.
Initially, the terminal specialized in servicing feeders, and after 3 years of operation it began accepting feeders container ships from the Far East. This direct connection with Asia contributed to the development of Baltic Hub, which became one of the fastest growing terminals in the world, reaching as much as 180 percent in 2010. growth. T2 – the second deepwater quay – was put into operation in 2016. At that time, the transhipment potential of Baltic Hub doubled from 1.5 to 3 million TEU per year, and the terminal became one of the largest facilities of this type in Northern Europe. Currently, it handles approximately 20 million tons of cargo annually.
And it continues to expand. “Currently, investments are being made based on the vision of the Port of Gdansk as a sustainable seaport in the blue and green economy.– he explains Dorota Pić, president of the Port of Gdansk. As a result of the landing of the reservoir, another quay is created – T3. This is an additional 36 hectares of land area. The new quay, 717 m long and 17.5 m deep, as well as the storage yards will be equipped with the most modern equipment – 7 STS quay cranes and 20 semi-automatic RMG yard cranes. The T3 terminal will be semi-automatic, which means operators will be able to remotely control devices from ergonomically designed workstations.
When T3 will it be put into operation? Already at the end of 2025, large container ships will be able to moor at the new quay, and the reloading capacity of the Baltic Hub will increase by another 1.5 million TEU (up to 4.5 million TEU per year).
But this is not the end of the investments carried out in the Northern Port. The construction of the T5 terminal, i.e. the installation base for the Offshore Wind Farms, has started. It is to be adjacent to the existing T1 quay, but also to the T3 quay under construction. Completion of this task means over 20 additional hectares. For this purpose, Istrana, a special purpose vehicle belonging to Baltic Hub, was established. If everything goes according to plan, the terminal will be launched in 2027.
“Offshore wind energy is one of the main pillars of the Polish energy transformation. Installation terminals will be key in the implementation of the entire investment program related to the construction of offshore wind farms. Ultimately, the system will be operated by three such terminals: in Gdańsk, Świnoujście and Bornholm. A completely new a branch of industry that will operate offshore wind farms. Let me just remind you that the first offshore tower factory in Poland is being built in Gdańsk, on the island of Ostrów The new investment is part of the concept of developing Gdańsk and Pomerania as a key energy center of the country. Thanks to the offshore port, the port will gain a new cargo group and will contribute to the development of wind energy,” explains Alan Aleksandrowicz, vice-president of finance at the Port of Gdańsk.
Gas and more oil
A milestone in the development of the Port of Gdansk will be the launch of a floating FSRU LNG terminal. This is an investment by Gaz-System, which will be built in the waters of the Bay of Gdańsk by 2030. “It is an extremely important investment, ensuring security and diversification of supplies. It is also necessary from the point of view of energy transformation, as it will allow us to accelerate the departure from high-emission energy sources,” he adds Dorota Pić, president of the Port of Gdansk.
Decisions regarding the expansion of infrastructure for importing liquefied natural gas by sea, enabling independence from supplies from Russia, were made many years before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In 2015, an LNG terminal was built in the port of Świnoujście. It enables the import of raw materials from all over the world. Moreover, gas has been flowing to our country for two years Baltic Pipea system connecting Poland with Norwegian deposits. We still have domestic mining. This gives a total of about 20 cubic meters of gas per year. This is enough for now.
The situation will change over the next dozen or so years, as the demand for this raw material as a transition fuel is expected to significantly increase. Therefore, it became necessary to further expand the capacity to import LNG by sea. Floating LNG terminal at the Port of Gdansk it will consist of a special berth and mooring quay approximately 3 km from the coastline, connected to the mainland by an undersea gas pipeline. The so-called FSRU (Floating Storage Regasification Unit). Its regasification capacity is 6.1 billion cubic meters. on an annual basis. Additional volumes of natural gas will be injected into the national transmission system through new sections of gas pipelines.
It is also preparing for expansion Naftoport liquid fuel terminalwhich is responsible for more than half of the cargo transhipped at the Port of Gdansk. The construction of station W (for crude oil handling), along with the development of Refilling Field No. 3, is at the design stage.
Observing the changes that have occurred over the past decades, we can safely say that the Northern Port is a completely different place today than it was 50 years ago. Its continuous operation and expansion prove the accuracy of the decisions made in the 1960s.
On July 18, 1974, the ceremonial opening of the Northern Port (the deep-water part of the port in Gdańsk) took place. The first ship loaded in the new part of the Gdańsk port was the bulk carrier PŻM “Uniwersytet Wrocławski”. He sailed away with 50 thousand. tons of coal for export. A year later, a liquid fuel reloading base was put into operation.
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