Klaipeda port

Klaipeda port
Data
UN / LOCODE	LTKLJ
owner	State
Port type	seaport
Total area of the port	498 ha
Goods handled	Bulk goods , containers etc.
Throughput	36.4 million
website	Klaipėda Port website
Geographic information
place	Klaipeda
district	Klaipeda district
Country	Lithuania
	The port of Klaipeda
Coordinates	55 ° 39 '40 " N , 21 ° 8' 44" E Coordinates: 55 ° 39 '40 " N , 21 ° 8' 44" E
	Location of Klaipeda port

The Klaipėda Port ( Lithuanian Klaipėdos valstybinis jūrų uostas ) is a seaport in the Lithuanian city of Klaipėda . It is the largest port in the country and one of the few ice-free northern Baltic ports . Every year around 7,000 ships from around 45 countries call at the port. The port area is approximately 498 hectares.

History until 1918

The history of the port began in the middle of the 13th century when the first castle was built in what was then Memel . In 1475 the city received various privileges under the Kulm Law , which made the port more important. From then on, Memel was one of the most important transhipment points for sea trade in East Prussia, along with Danzig, Königsberg and Liepaja . At the same time, Memel was a fortress port until the second half of the 18th century, which is why the entire port area with its defenses belonged to the Prussian state .

Under the rule of the Prussian King Frederick the Great , trade took off considerably. That is why the port was first expanded in the middle of the 18th century. In 1770 the number of incoming ships reached 500 for the first time. In 1783 the Memel merchant fleet consisted of 30 ships. The value of the annual exports to sea was around 1.3 million thalers in 1791 and rose to 7.5 million thalers in 1798. In 1796, a 54-foot lighthouse was built on an elevation north of the city. The pilot tower was built in 1807.

The port of Memel was of economic importance primarily as a wooden port. While the felled trees were originally mostly unprocessed, the processing of the wood began in the region in 1753, as this enabled higher profits to be achieved. In 1791 there were already 14 cutting mills in the city. The trees felled in the extensive forest areas on the upper reaches of the Memel were tied together in rafts and transported across the Curonian Lagoon or through the King Wilhelm Canal, completed in 1873, to Schmelz / Smeltė near Memel. This is where the further processing and transport of the wood products to the port took place.

The port experienced an economic climax during the Crimean War of 1853–1855. Since all Russian ports were blocked by England and France, a large part of Russian trade had to be carried out via Memel.

In 1855 a new winter port was built. With the connection of the city to the East Prussian railway network in 1875, the port received a connecting track to the train station three years later. In the same year the port facilities and the ballast yard were expanded. In order to allow larger ships access, the southern mole was expanded around 1900, which eliminated the silting up of the harbor entrance and ensured a greater entrance depth in the mouth of the Haff.

History after 1918

After Lithuania gained independence, the country's only major port grew in importance. In 1921 and 1922, under the direction of a specially established port management and with the support of the Lithuanian government, modern loading and unloading devices were created, with the Dange river flowing through the city being included as a port extension. In addition, the existing urban industrial railway was expanded to a length of around 20 kilometers. Between 1935 and 1938, 75 to 78% of total exports and 66% of total imports from Lithuania were handled through the port of Klaipeda.

Site plan with the planned Lithuanian free port zone (framed in red) from the Reichsgesetzblatt 1940

Under Soviet rule, after the Second World War, it was expanded to become a fishing and trading port of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic . There was also a ship repair and shipbuilding yard. All port facilities and operations were subordinate to various ministries of the former Soviet Union .

Today's meaning

When Lithuania regained its independence in 1991, the individual areas of the port of Klaipėda began to be converted into a modern and universal seaport based on the Western European model. As part of the new structure of the port, the State Sea Port Authority Klaipeda was established in 1991. She is responsible for the administration of the port and its integration into the traffic infrastructure of the country. In 1996, the Klaipeda Port Act was passed, making the port's land and infrastructure a state property, but leaving handling and storage to private companies. The Klaipėda State Seaport Authority is responsible for port supervision .

After modernization work, the port can now accommodate ships up to 330 m in length with a draft of up to 13.5 m . In 1996, cargo handling reached almost 15 million tons. After strong increases around the turn of the millennium and declines in the context of the financial crisis from 2007 and the euro crisis , cargo handling in the port has again increased significantly. In 2000 it was 19.40 million tons, in 2010 it was 31.28 million tons and in 2017 it was 43.17 million tons.

year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Cargo handling, million t	14.97	19.40	17.24	19.74	21.19	20.25	21.79	23.61	27.36	29.88	27.86	31.28	36.59	35.24	33.42	36.41	38.51	40.14	43.17

Furthermore, more than 60,000 passengers used the port, mostly by ferry. Regular connections exist u. a. to Kiel , Copenhagen , Åhus , Rotterdam , Felixstowe and Malmö . There are also some domestic connections to places on the Lithuanian coast and the neighboring Baltic states. The route to Sassnitz-Mukran was discontinued on September 30, 2013. The Klaipėda cruise ship terminal has existed since 2003 .