Second best year for the port despite challenges

Even though the early part of 2022 was challenging, the Port of HaminaKotka reached the second best transport volumes ever last year. A total of 16.3 million tonnes of goods were handled, which is 11.6% more than in 2021.

The spring of 2022 of the Port of HaminaKotka was characterised by industrial action in the Finnish wood-processing industry, and after the strikes ended, it took all of June for exports to recover. In February, Russia attacked Ukraine, and the war caused a lot of uncertainty at the port, too. Due to the war and the resulting sanctions, transport to and from Russia has decreased significantly, and now the most important remaining type of transport from Russia are fertilizers that are part of the food chain.

After the strikes ended and after the effects of the sanctions became clear, the latter half of 2022 was nevertheless good and especially the autumn was very strong. To ensure the availability of raw materials, the Finnish wood-processing industry started to bring significant volumes of wood from countries other than Russia to the Port of HaminaKotka since the summer. In addition to this, imports transferred from Russia to other countries and the transfer of transport from the Saimaa Canal to the Port of HaminaKotka boosted the transport volumes so much that the total volume grew towards the end of the year above the level of the previous year.

Exports via the Port of HaminaKotka grew by 2% over 2021, with the biggest increase in general cargo as well as liquid and dry bulk. Imports increased by 41.7%, which is mainly due to the above-mentioned imports of raw wood for the wood-processing industry, but also to an increase in the volume of all other cargo categories. Transit transport decreased by 0.4%. The number of containers handled at the port grew by 6.0% from the previous year, and the number of calls by ships also increased by 9.8% compared to the previous year.

Investments to secure operating conditions in the future

The investments made progress in 2022 despite the turmoil: a 153-metre long D0 quay was completed for the D-area of the Mussalo Harbour and the operation of the Hietanen Harbour was enhanced with a floating pontoon quay. Kotka Pax, the development project on the cruise and passenger ship terminal at Kantasatama in Kotka, was completed towards the end of the summer. The investments at the port will continue this year as well, when quays with lengths of 250 and 300 metres will be completed in the D-area at Mussalo by the end of the year. The D-area has already become an internationally significant logistics hub for pulp transport. When the entire area is complete, it will provide a first-rate operating area for the international cargo flows of the wood-processing industry.

The development projects of individual operators at the port have also made progress when, for example, one of the world’s biggest tall oil refineries built in Hamina by Fintoil Oy started operation, and Hamina LNG Oy’s commercial operation started last year. Last year, the state-owned investment company Finnish Minerals Group and the Chinese technology company CNGR Advanced Material established the joint venture CNGR Finland Oy to promote the building of a pCAM factory producing precursor material in Hamina. Its operation has progressed to the permit stage.

“The investments by both the port company and other companies operating at the port create good preconditions for the favourable development of port traffic also in the future,” says Kimmo Naski, CEO of Port of HaminaKotka Ltd.

Positive expectations for this year

The outlook of the port for this year’s transport volumes is currently quite positive. However, the decisive factor in terms of overall traffic is whether eastward rail transport will continue. At the port, this is mainly transport of fertilizers being part of the food chain. The strong trend in transport that started at the beginning of 2022 slowed down due to the strikes of stevedores and locomotive drivers in the latter half of February. After the strikes ended, however, transport volumes turned to rapid growth again, being +7.5% in January to March as compared to the corresponding period in 2021. From the beginning of this year, the port company also took on responsibility for the construction of the seawater facility at the Hamina Harbour and its initial management and marketing. Exports*

Cargo transport at the Port of HaminaKotka 2022

*Also includes export transit

**Also includes import transit