Szczecin-Świnoujście port reduced iron ore transshipment by 45% y/y in the first quarter

In January-March 2023, the port complex of Poland Szczecin-Świnoujście reduced iron ore transshipment by 44.9% compared to the same period in 2022 – to 311.3 thousand tons. This is evidenced by data on the enterprise’s website.

In March 2023, the port processed 111.5 thousand tons of iron ore raw, which is 51.5% less compared to March 2022.

In general, in the first quarter, the port complex increased cargo transshipment by 3.4% compared to January-March 2022 – up to 9.4 million tons. In March, transshipment volumes increased by 13.2% y/y – up to 3.26 million tons.

Among the main cargoes handled by the port during the first quarter:

• coal – 1.35 million tons (+2.1 times y/y);
• grain – 465.1 million tons (+15.2% y/y);
• gas – 1.12 million tons (+41.6% y/y).

Container handling by the port for January-March 2023 amounted to 20.02 thousand TEU (+3.8% y/y).

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2022, Szczecin-Świnoujście increased transshipment of iron ore by 11.4% compared to 2021 – up to 2.11 million tons. In December, processing of iron ore decreased by 67.4% y/y – to 57.1 thousand tons. Overall, the port complex increased transshipment of cargo by 10.8% year-on-year – up to 36.8 million tons.

Since the beginning of the war, Ukrainian steelmakers have completely directed the export of products to Europe by rail. The blockade of the ports left for the Ukrainian steel sector only this direction of product shipment, which is several times more expensive, and the product delivery time is much longer.

At the end of May, the Polish port of Swinoujscie sent the first batch with 30 thousand tons of Ukrainian iron ore. The raw materials were delivered to the port by rail and sent to the customer in Algeria. At that time, there were more than 50,000 tons of Ukrainian iron ore on the port berths.

Also, Ukrainian Railways in March 2023 increased export transportation of iron ore by 29.8% compared to the previous month and by 32.2% compared to March 2022 – up to 1.7 million tons.