Hamburg, Kiel and Lübeck step up their cooperation with Klaipėda

Panel discussion in Klaipėda 

2015 is an auspicious year for Lithuania’s port and logistics sector: the introduction of the euro is expected to lower costs and increase planning certainty, billions of euros in EU funding will speed up the expansion and upgrade the infrastructure, and a new floating LNG terminal will establish a

measure of independence in terms of the country’s gas supply. At the same time, the sector faces major challenges in respect of the prevailing political and economic uncertainties in relation to its most important trading partner Russia, and the SECA guidelines that have been in force since the beginning of the year. Current developments in Lithuania provided an exciting backdrop for a joint information forum in Klaipėda, and they are opening up new areas where the cooperation between the ports can be intensified in the future.

Despite the highly volatile environment, the EU Commission projects a growth rate of 3.1 per cent for Lithuania in 2015. This means that the country's imports and exports should also increase in volume. Over the last four years, exports from Lithuania have more than doubled. The port of Klaipėda plays a vital role in Lithuania’s foreign trade. It is the country’s biggest port, and thanks to its favourable location on the Baltic Sea, it functions as a very important transport hub for Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan and Moldova. In 2014 more than 450,000 TEU (20-foot standard containers) were handled in Klaipėda – an increase of 23 per cent and a new record for the port. It is anticipated that additional impetus for growth in 2015 will come from EU funding programmes like the new “Rail Baltica” route between Estonia-Latvia-Lithuania and Poland.

With regular scheduled feeder and shortsea liner services, the port of Klaipėda offers very good connections to and from the Port of Hamburg. In 2014, some 84,000 TEU of seaborne cargo were moved between Hamburg and Klaipėda, including both imports and exports of chemical products, food and luxury goods as well as agricultural and forestry products. The seaport of Kiel also has excellent links with Klaipėda – a ro-ro service for vehicles and other rolling cargo has been in operation between the two ports for over 22 years now. Port of Lübeck operator Lübecker Hafengesellschaft is currently in talks with prospective partners about establishing a regular service between Lübeck and Klaipėda.

Working together with the Klaipėda State Seaport Authority and the Association of Lithuanian Stevedoring Companies, Port of Hamburg Marketing hosted an inaugural information and networking event in Klaipėda on 5/6 March. The event also included a tour of Lithuania’s biggest port. Among the 150 guests were the key protagonists in Lithuania's port and transport-related industries as well as representatives from the ports of Hamburg, Kiel and Lübeck, who have been maintaining good relationships with the port of Klaipėda for many years. Having three German partner port representatives visiting in Klaipėda at the same time was a first.