Last year the Freeport of Ventspils handled 93 098 units of Ro-Ro freight using ferries. This is the sea port’s historic record, as reported by Freeport of Ventspils representative Inga Ieviņa.
Last year 93 098 units of Ro-Ro freight reached the Freeport of Ventspils, reaching a total of 2.3 million tonnes, which is 6% more when compared to 2020.
20% of the total volume of freight at the Freeport of Ventspils is carried on the Ventspils-Nynäshamn route. Ventspils Freeport explains that this is the shortest ferry route in the Baltic Sea region, connecting Ventspils with Stockholm, Sweden’s central parts and Norway’s economic centres. 64% of all Ro-Ro freight in Latvia in 2021 was carried through Ventspils.
Last year the ferry line from Ventspils was used by 204 8433 passengers and 60 055 cars were carried. Although the number of ferry passengers had increased by 31.5% and the number of cars had increased by 51% last year when compared to a year prior, the numbers remain behind 2019, when the number of passengers reached a new record in Ventspils.
Read also: PHOTOS: Stena Line newest ferry Stena Scandica departs on its maiden voyage
Last year Stena Line ferry operator and Noord Natie Ventsils Terminals (NNVT) based at the Freeport of Ventspils signed a contract for 20 years, agreeing on continued ferry traffic operating from Ventspils. The 222 m long Stena Scandica ferry started operating from Ventspils. This new ferry is 30% bigger than previous ferries. Additionally, in September 2021 Stena Line announced plans to attract two more ferries to Ventspils route in 2022. New E-Flexer type ferries will be 240 m long and will allow increasing cargo capacity by 25% and passenger capacity by 33%.
Last year terminals at the Freeport of Ventspils handled a total of 11.1 million tonnes of freight. Terminals managed to boost their proportion of domestic freight. In a single year the Freeport of Ventspils serviced 1 310 freight ships.
The representative of the sea port explains that port fees paid by ships entering the port are the main source of income for the Freeport of Ventspils authority. This has allowed the sea port to continue port and industrial infrastructure projects, which are highly important for Ventspils municipality as a whole.
Last year Ventspils municipality’s budget received more than EUR 864 000 from port fees. The Freeport of Ventspils authority also spent around EUR 1.15 million on maintenance of streets, squares and access roads in general. 2021 marked the completion of restoration of the North Pier of the Sea Port of Ventspils. Two new factories ordered by Ventspils Freeport authority opened up within the industrial territory.
Ventspils is the second largest sea port in Latvia freight-wise.
Ventspils Freeport reports record large volume of freight carried by ferries in 2021
