The Port of Kiel turned round more than six million tons of cargo last year for the first time ever. It posted a turnover figure of 6,293.374 tons exactly at the turn of the year - an increase of 8.5 % over the previous year. The Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG) Dr Dirk Claus said “thanks to the shipping companies and the port working hand in hand, we have together achieved a top-notch result, won additional shares in the market and gone into 2012 well-placed for the future”. The growth has been mainly down to the ferry lines serving Scandinavia, Russia and the Baltic region. Together they account for 80 % of the total tonnage handled. While conventional cargo handling rose strongly by 17.3 %, bulk cargo handling declined by 18 %. The annual results were presented during a press reception hosted jointly by Dirk Claus and the managing directors of the local shipping companies DFDS Seaways (Jacob Andersen), Stena Line (Stefan Mathias) and Color Line (Dr. Jörg Rudolph).

Schwedenkai Terminal Restructuring Completed

The extensive restructuring of facilities at the Schwedenkai Terminal was completed at the start of September 2011. Inside three years a high-performance quay facility capable of handling both big ferries and cruise ships was created at an investment cost of more than 30 million Euros.

“The introduction of a new generation of Stena Line ships would not have been possible without the restructuring of the Schwedenkai Terminal”, said Dirk Claus. “And the Schwedenkai has the potential for further growth”, he added. In 2011, about 100 new jobs were created at the terminal and more than double the volume of cargo was handled there than before the restructuring – despite the fact that terminal handling in the second half of the year was not as strong as in the first half.

Construction work on the north easterly extension of the Norwegenkai was also largely completed in 2011. About 9,000 m² of additional operational space was created and made available for port usage, mainly as parking areas for trailers. With the financial support of the state of Schleswig-Holstein, about 1.5 million Euros were invested at the Norwegenkai.

The SEEHAFEN KIEL last year bought two large warehouses and other covered areas in the port’s most important cargo handling region, the Ostuferhafen, to meet an increasing demand for suitable storage space. The company can now offer a total of about 30,000 m² of covered warehousing.

During 2012 further expansion of the Ostuferhafen’s cargo and logistics capacities will take place. This undertaking will also involve the fitting-out of Berth One for handling big cruise ships. By the 2013 cruise season the Ostuferhafen will have been expanded so that cruise ships of 300 and more metres in length will be able to berth there and exchange passengers. Making the Ostuferhafen fit for this job will involve an investment of 4.8 million Euros and cover quayside and berth adjustments, safety facilities, the conversion of the existing RoRo Berth Number 1 and the improvement of gate processing facilities. In addition, a new computer-supported terminal management system called Yard-IT will go into operation this year.

SEEHAFEN KIEL Takes Over Airport Company

The SEEHAFEN KIEL now also operates Kiel Airport. The relevant decisions were taken by the Council of the Federal State Capital of Kiel with effect from January 1st this year. The task will be to secure the long-term survival of the city’s aircraft landing facility and at the same time to shape its development into an ‘airpark’ – an industrial park with an airstrip. “The integration of the airport company into the port group secures the existence of the airport’s location in Kiel and establishes the organisational foundation on which to develop the ‘airpark’ ”, said Dirk Claus. Kiel Airport covers about 100 hectares and boasts a runway of more than 1,300 metres in length for the use of commercial and private air traffic. The airport company has been trading since the start of the yea