Number of passenger slides, cargo traffic ups at Helsinki Port in H1

The number of passengers travelled through the Port of Helsinki from January to June reduced further while the number of cargo traffic increased by nine percent compared to the stipulated period of previous year, said the Port of Helsinki in a press release on Tuesday.

The liner traffic carried 995,000 passengers, which was 58% less than the previous year and about 81% less than the last so-called normal year, 2019.

International cruise traffic and liner traffic between Helsinki and Stockholm remained at a standstill.

Overall, the passenger season this summer has started very quietly due to the restrictions and the number of passengers in June had dropped by 19% compared to June 2020.

Meanwhile, the total cargo traffic of the Port of Helsinki amounted to 7.2 million tonnes during the first half of the year, which is 9% more than in the same period in the previous year.

Of this amount, 3.2 million tonnes was in import (+3%), and 3.9 million tonnes in export (+15%).

Measured in tonnes, however, container traffic decreased by 0.5% from the previous year, while rubber-wheeled traffic increased by 13% from the previous year. Rubber-wheeled traffic has been steadily busy in Vuosaari Harbour in particular.

The lack of containers brought on by the pandemic, as well as the blockage at the Suez Canal in March, have done their share in accelerating the move of cargo traffic to Baltic routes.

The amount of cargo traffic through the Port of Helsinki is expected to rise to the level before COVID-19 by the end of the year.

The turnover of the Port of Helsinki Ltd in January–June was 30 million euros, which is 11% less than the same period in the previous year.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a heavy negative impact on the financial status of the company in 2020, and the effects continue to be larger than expected this year.

However, the financial standing of the Port of Helsinki remains solid. The company serves operators specialising in both cargo and passenger traffic, as well as operators producing services in both business areas. This balances the risks of business.

When passenger traffic is opened during the second half of the year, the Port will be ready.