The Port of Klaipėda is a
seaport
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
located in
Klaipėda
Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuan ...
,
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
. It is one of the few ice-free ports in northernmost Europe, and the second largest
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
port by tonnage in the Baltic. It serves as a port of call for cruise ships as well as freight transport. Regular passenger ferry lines connect to
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
,
Karlshamn
Karlshamn () is a locality and the seat of Karlshamn Municipality in Blekinge County, Sweden. It had 13,576 inhabitants in 2015, out of 31,846 in the municipality.
Karlshamn received a Royal Charter and city privileges in 1664, when King Charles X ...
,
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
and other European cities.
History
![Морський порт Мемеля (XX ст](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/%D0%9C%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%82_%D0%9C%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8F_%28XX_%D1%81%D1%82.%29.jpg)
The city of Klaipėda has been involved in maritime trade as early as the 13th century,
and probably during prehistoric times, since it is located on the
Amber Road
The Amber Road was an ancient trade route for the transfer of amber from coastal areas of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Prehistoric trade routes between Northern and Southern Europe were defined by the amber trade.
...
. For several centuries its administration and its merchants defended the port and competed with the
Port of Danzig and the Port of
Königsberg
Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...
. It was heavily fortified. At the beginning of the 20th century the port was transferred to the jurisdiction of the
Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Lithuania. Before
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the major cargo was timber. During the 20th century, mineral and cellulose enterprises were established in Lithuania, and became port commodities. Infrastructure supporting the fishing and shipbuilding industries were also built.
Current operations
![Klaipeda_Port_3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Klaipeda_Port_3.jpg)
In 1991, after Lithuanian independence was declared, the Klaipėda State Seaport Authority was founded. It administers the port and supports its integration into the larger scheme of
Lithuanian transport. The Port Authority is responsible for the maintenance, reconstruction and modernisation of the port infrastructure, while loading and unloading operations are managed by separate independent terminals. The port's land and infrastructure belong to the state, but some privatisization is underway.
The Port of Klaipėda is the most northerly ice-free port in the Eastern part of the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
. The port can accommodate ships of up to 250 meters in length with draughts of up to 13.5 meters. The port is served by two railway stations and a highways which together link Klaipėda to
Kaunas
Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...
,
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
and cities in the nearby countries, such as
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
,
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
and
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
.
In 1997, 16.13 million tons of cargo were handled at the port, increasing to over 31 million tons in 2010. About 321,000 international passengers
transhipped
Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination.
One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g. ...
the port of Klaipėda in 2010, on ferries servicing
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
and
Mukran
Sassnitz (, before 1993 in german: Saßnitz) is a town on the Jasmund peninsula, Rügen Island, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The population as of 2012 was 9,498.
Sassnitz is a well-known seaside resort and port town, and is ...
in Germany,
Åhus
Åhus () is the second largest locality in Kristianstad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 9,840 inhabitants in 2015, but the number triples during the summer due to tourists who come seeking the beaches and nature of the Helgeå and H ...
in Sweden, and
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
and
Fredericia
Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vejle. It was founded in 16 ...
in Denmark.
In 2015, the Port Authority hired Austrian company
Strabag
STRABAG SE is an Austrian construction company based in Spittal an der Drau, Austria, with its headquarters in Vienna. It is the largest construction company in Austria and one of the largest construction companies in Europe. The company is acti ...
for dredging the shipping channel to the depth of 15 metres.
Some of the major companies or objects operating in the port:
*
Baltija Shipbuilding Yard
"Baltija" Shipbuilding Yard JSC (''Baltijos laivų statykla'') is a shipyard in Lithuania. The company—located in Klaipėda—supplies fleets and marine companies worldwide. However, many shipbuilding corporations such as STX Europe have shipbu ...
*
DFDS Seaways
DFDS Seaways is a Danish shipping company that operates passenger and freight services across northern Europe. Following the acquisition of Norfolkline in 2010, DFDS restructured its other shipping divisions (DFDS Tor Line and DFDS Lisco) in ...
* Limarko laivininkystės kompanija
*
Klaipėda LNG FSRU
*
* Klaipėdos Smeltė AB
*
Klaipėdos Nafta
*
Vakarų laivų gamykla
Image:Klaipedos uostas.jpg, Embankment of the cruise ship terminal
Image:Klaipedos uostas1.jpg, Cargo loading
Image:Klaipedos uostas5.jpg, Harbor
Image:Klaipėdos jūros vartai.Iš aukščiau.jpg, Sea gate
Image:Costa Magica in Memel.JPG, Cruise ship Costa Magica
''Costa Magica'' is a operated by Costa Crociere. She debuted in 2004 as a sister ship to , and is also referred to as a ''Fortuna''-class ship. ''Costa Magica'' pays homage to some of the most famous destinations in Italy including Positano, ...
visiting the port
See also
*
History of Klaipėda
*
Ports of the Baltic Sea
There are over 200 ports in the Baltic Sea (or 190, when only those ports that handle a minimum of 50,000 tonnes of cargo annually and where at least part of this cargo is international are taken into account). In 2008, the total amount of cargo ...
References
External links
The Port of Klaipėda official websiteAbout the Port of KlaipėdaFerry from Germany to Klaipeda - DFDS Seaways (Germany)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Port of Klaipeda
Ports and harbours of Lithuania
Transport in Klaipėda
Klaipeda