A total of 30.48 million tonnes of goods passed the edge of the quay, more than ever before in the history of the ports of Rostock.

The lion’s share of 28.68 million tonnes was handled at the Overseas Port of Rostock which scored an increase of 14 percent or 3.58 million tonnes compared to 2020, notching up another record. “This result is remarkable on the one hand because all four handling divisions contributed to it, and on the other because it shows a considerable increase above the level of activity in 2019, the year before the crisis, by a respectable 11.7 percent. In contrast to the global transport chains those across Europe also work in times of a pandemic“, says Dr. Gernot Tesch, Managing Director of ROSTOCK PORT. The strongest growth was achieved in the handling of wheeled cargo in ferry and ro-ro traffic. „The steady development of the ferry and railway network over the last few years, for instance by strengthening the existing ferry services and establishing a new ferry destination as well as several new railway destinations, is clearly paying off”.

Gratifying growth rates were also achieved in intermodal transport and in container traffic which runs by rail between China and Europe and by ship between Kaliningrad and Rostock. “The men and women working at the shipping companies, public authorities, cargo handling and service businesses in Rostock have produced a remarkable double-digit result in difficult circumstances. This trend clearly shows the high operative capability of Rostock Overseas Port as a business location”, states Jens A. Scharner, Managing Director of ROSTOCK PORT.

According to Rostock’s Port and Shipping Authority the other ports in Rostock, such as the cargo and fishing port and the chemical port, together handled another 1.8 million tonnes of goods in 2021.

At 1.7 million passengers on the ferry lines to and from Northern Europe there was an increase by 330,000 compared to the first Corona year 2020. And cruise shipping also managed to pick up speed again over the previous year with 47 port calls and 100,000 passengers. All in all the 2021 passenger traffic was however still below the level of previous years.

Source rostock-port.de