SIMIC

LATVIA's Port of Riga has enjoyed a 16 per cent year-on-year increase in container volume to 460,700 TEU in 2022, which it attributes to the Russo-Ukrainian War, reports London's Port Technology.
The nearby Port of St Petersburg, which was previously the largest container port in the region, lost 64 per cent of its container cargo volume in 2022. Baltic Container Terminal (BCT) at Riga transshipped 326,000 TEU.
"Since the start of the war, the Baltic Sea container lines have boycotted Russian ports and used the container terminals of the Baltic countries to place and store containers intended for the Russian market, leading to a rapid increase in turnover at the BCT terminal," said BCT board member Dmitrijs Kiselevs.
The growth in container cargo turnover can be attributed to the impact of the geopolitical situation on global logistics chains, affecting cargo movement not only in the Baltic region, but worldwide.
Additionally, six regular container shipping lines operated at the Port of Riga in 2022, with all of them renewing their contracts for 2023.
The Port of Riga also invested a total of EUR19.8 million (US$22.4 million) in the development of port infrastructure in early 2022 to improve the port's performance.
According to market analysts at the Freeport of Riga Authority, the statistical data of all ports in the Baltic region underscore the impact of the Ukraine-Russia conflict on container cargo transport.
The ports of Riga, Klaipeda and Tallinn saw an increase in container cargo turnover, as well as the Finnish ports of Helsinki and HaminaKotka.
Said Mr Kiselevs: "Since the start of the war, the Baltic Sea container lines have boycotted Russian ports and used the container terminals of the Baltic countries to place and store containers intended for the Russian market, leading to a rapid increase in turnover at the BCT terminal."