The port of Rostock can look back on the past year with satisfaction. For the first time in its 60-year history, around 30.9 million tons of freight were handled in the international port.
This corresponds to an increase of 6.5% or 1.9 million tons compared to the last handling record set in 2022, it says. According to the Rostock Port and Maritime Authority, a further 1.3 million tons of goods were handled in the other Rostock ports such as the cargo and fishing port and chemical port in 2023. This means that a total of 32.2 million tons passed over the quayside in the port city of Rostock in 2023[ds_preview].
“In view of the economic environment, we are satisfied with the overall result for 2023, as it confirms the efficiency of all companies and authorities operating in the largest universal port on the German Baltic Sea coast. Despite cyclical declines in ferry/ro-ro and harvest-related declines in grain, the overseas port was once again able to achieve a record result, primarily due to the enormous growth in liquid cargo handling,” summarizes Rostock Port Managing Director Gernot Tesch. “Particularly pleasing is the strong growth in value-added general cargo handling, the trajectory of rail wagons and the positive development in the new automotive handling segment.”
Port of Rostock invests around € 50 million
“With a total of almost three million passengers on the ferries and cruise ships in the overseas port and Warnemünde, around 200,000 more travelers were welcomed in 2023 than in the previous year,” says Jens A. Scharner, Managing Director of Rostock Port GmbH. “With 2.54 million passengers on the three ferry routes operated by Scandlines, Stena Line and TT-Line to Denmark and Sweden, there was an increase of 40,000 or 1.5% compared to the previous year. In the cruise port of Warnemünde, 419,000 sea travelers (2022: 294,000) embarked and disembarked on 130 ship calls (2022: 139) of 30 cruise ships (2022: 30). Cruise ships from 22 national and international shipping companies docked in the port of Warnemünde on 103 out of 365 days in 2023.”
In 2023, € 20 million was invested in the overseas port’s infrastructure. This year, Rostock Port is planning investments of over €50 million in infrastructure and investments to strengthen the port’s competitiveness, it says.
