2019-08-01

New Opening of the Port in Gdynia

The new turning basin, port basin dredging to 16 metres, and reconstructing 1501 metres of wharfs are key elements of the development of the Gdynia port. They are aimed to increase the port’s transhipment potential by 4.7 mln tonnes and 400 thousand TEUs. The investments will be carried out under the “Pogłębienie toru podejściowego i akwenów wewnętrznych Portu Gdynia – etapy I i III oraz przebudowa nabrzeży w Porcie Gdynia – etapy II i III” (Dredging the approach waterway and internal reservoirs of the Gdynia Port - stage I and II, and reconstruction of the wharfs in the Gdynia Port - stage II and III) project. The entire venture is valued at more than PLN 556.94 million, 273 million of which is EU subsidies. The assumptions of the project were presented during a meeting at the ZMPG headquarters on 3 July.

- It’s good that thanks to EU funds we can modify the infrastructure of the Gdynia Port to keep it competitive. These investments will enable larger vessels sailing on the Baltic Sea that operate direct routes to the Far East and other continents to call at the port. It will be a new opening for the Gdynia Port - emphasised Adam Meller - President of the Board of the Port of Gdynia.

Investments in dredging the approach fairways and internal basins of the Gdynia Port and in wharf reconstruction mainly serve to increase the competitiveness in the Baltic Sea region and along the Baltic-Adriatic corridor within the TEN-T network. The project has been divided into two tasks. The first one, during stage I, covers the reconstruction of turning basin no. 2 in Basin IX to a diameter of 480 m (from 400 m), demolition of shipyard piers and relocation of the floating dock of PGZ Stocznia Wojenna. After all, works connected with preparing the turning basin are being conducted since September 2017, and construction was completed on January 31^st. Currently, a procedure to obtain permissions necessary to use it is underway. The turning basin was already used by container ships calling at the Gdańsk Port since the beginning of this year, including the 347 m Charlotte Maersk with a capacity of 9640 TEUs and the 331 m, 10,600 TEUs capacity Cap San Juan. In general, the investment is to ensure that the port can service vessels that are 400 m in length, 58 m in width, and have a draught of 15 m. That is also to be enabled by stage III of this task, i.e. the dredging of the port basins from the current 13.5 m to 16 m and widening the Pilot Entryway (Wejście Pilotowe) from the current 100 m to 140 m, and reconstruction of the Northern Groin (Ostroga Północna). It will also be necessary to secure the structure of the wharfs along the port canal, including the Słowacki Wharf, the Włoskie Wharf and the Norweskie Wharf. At the same time, the Maritime Authority in Gdynia will perform works on the port access fairway constituting stage II of this endeavour.

Task two on the other hand, stages II and III, includes a reconstruction of the Indyjskie Wharf along a section of 550 m, including dredging to 15.5 m, and the Helskie Wharf along a section of 965 m, including dredging to 15.5 m. It will also be equipped with crane tracks 30 m in width. During the works, the wharfs will also be equipped with environmentally friendly solutions, e.g. ship sewage collection installations and a system to power the vessels from the land. Stage I of this part of the project, concerning modernisation of the Rumuńskie Wharf, has already been completed in the previous EU financial perspective. All the tasks planned currently need to be performed by the end of 2022, so that the project could be settled in 2023.

Article developed with "Namiary na Morze i Handel" magazine

phot. Namiary na Morze i Handel