Traffic at St Petersburg has soared in recent years, with the 1 million TEU barrier broken in 2005. Despite expansion and equipment upgrades at existing facilities, capacity is still an issue and new terminals are needed. The situation in St Petersburg is nothing new. As one carrier pointed out, 'the port has led something of a hand-to-mouth existence in recent years with it being capped out on a number of occasions'. Delays in handling vessels occur regularly. With sustained growth expected in its container traffic in the coming years, partly on the back of Russia's likely joining of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the port's growing role as a gateway for Moscow, new capacity needs to be brought on stream.
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