Deep business

PORT OF KOKKOLA

www.portofkokkola.fi

Main areas: Deep Port: Dry bulk (dark), liquid bulk, General Port: All Weather Terminal, break bulk, containers, Silverstone Port: Dry bulk (light), liquid bulk, containers

Channel depths: 14 m (in 2019)

Total quay length: 2,334 m

Volume 2017: 8.6 million tonnes

Open: All year

There is a lot going on in the largest port in the Bothnian Bay. A 45-million-euro state-funded project, carried out by the Finnish Transport Agency, is taking place, whereupon the Port of Kokkola will be deepened by one meter. The new 14-metre deep sea route will allow more efficient shipping.
“In the past, large ships in particular have had to reduce their loads because of the lack of channel depth. The deeper dredging of one meter will allow the ships to be fully loaded. This means that a large ocean vessel will be able to carry an additional load the equivalent to 10,000 passenger cars,” explains Torbjörn Witting, CEO of the Port of Kokkola.

“About 50–70 large ships pass through us each
year, which is more than any other port in Finland. The sufficient depth of the port will ensure that large ships can be fully loaded,”
says Torbjörn Witting.

The dredging is a three-year project that has been desired for a long time. It will provide new highly profitable transportation contracts to the port, benefiting the entire region. Thanks to the project, the Port of Kokkola will continue its strong growth.
“Over the last few years, we have been one of the fastest growing ports in Finland. We have increased our volume of shipping traffic by more than double over the last ten years. Approximately 8 million tonnes of cargo and more than 600 vessels pass through the Port of Kokkola every year,” Witting says.

The Port of Kokkola is Finland’s largest transit port, where goods mainly arrive by train. The liveliness of the rail traffic is characterized by the fact that 18 percent of VR Transpoint’s rail transport in Finland passes to the Port of Kokkola. Trains close to a kilometre in length allow bulk goods to be transported to the port area on a daily basis, from where they depart via ocean-going vessels to Central Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, as well as to the Middle and Far East.
“It is imperative for us that large ships can move easily and efficiently. That is why we are very pleased with the dredging project. By investing in the port, we can maintain the growth in international traffic volumes,” Witting says.

PORT OF KOKKOLA

www.portofkokkola.fi

Main areas: Deep Port: Dry bulk (dark), liquid bulk, General Port: All Weather Terminal, break bulk, containers, Silverstone Port: Dry bulk (light), liquid bulk, containers

Channel depths: 14 m (in 2019)

Total quay length: 2,334 m

Volume 2017: 8.6 million tonnes

Open: All year