Team effort

摘要

The last few years have seen an explosion of cargo destined to Scandinavia and eastern Europe via the Baltic Sea, partly driven by a switch in sourcing from more established markets to China, and partly due to the opening up of the former Soviet Union region. As there continues to be no direct deepsea services into the Baltic Sea, it has been a time of plenty for shortsea feeder operators. The current size of their market and its growth are difficult to establish due to the number of ports involved. Deepsea cargo can be transhipped from any port between Hamburg and Le Havre, and there are over 30 ports to monitor in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. There is also the overland option. However, fast-growing Hamburg is the region's biggest transhipment port in continental Europe, and if its figures are anything to go by, container traffic with Scandinavia increased by 14.5% last year, while that involving Eastern Europe rose by a staggering 24%. Finland was Hamburg's third largest market in Europe, with 438,000TEU, followed by Sweden in fourth position, with 306,000TEU, and Russia in sixth position, with 256,000TEU.