Cargo handling in the Port of Kiel is gaining momentum again. In the first four months of this year about 2.2 million tons were handled, an increase of 25% over the same period of last year. The ferry lines in particular – to and from Scandinavia, Russia and the Baltic region - again proved to be the engines powering above-average growth. Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG), said “continuing economic growth in the Baltic region, well-timed investment by our shipping companies and the port itself, as well as the continuous expansion of our services are all having a real effect. For the first time ever, Kiel will this year turn round more than 6 million tons of cargo.”

The concentration on Kiel of Stena Line ferry services between western Sweden and Germany has of course given an additional impulse to the port. The ground for this has been laid over the past two years with the investment of well over EUR 30 million in Kiel’s Schwedenkai Terminal, which has turned it into one of the most efficient facilities of its kind for the handling of big RoPax ferries. Today the “Stena Germanica” and the “Stena Scandinavica”, the longest RoPax ferries in the Baltic and, in terms of freight capacity also the biggest, serve out of Schwedenkai and between Kiel and Gothenburg. “On all the ferry services out of Kiel, ship owners are now introducing top, modern tonnage. It’s a competitive advantage which is reflected in the lines’ good transport volumes,” commented Dirk Claus.