Cargo handling all-time high, passenger traffic slides at Helsinki Port

A total of 14.4 million tonnes of goods were transported via the Port of Helsinki in 2021, which was 8 percent higher compared to 2020.

Unitized cargo traffic in last year reached an all-time high, said the Port of Helsinki in a press release on Monday.

In passenger traffic operations, the impact of the pandemic was even more evident compared to the previous year in the decrease in passengers.

“The traffic year saw two different trends. Cargo traffic recovered well from the slump caused by COVID-19. We saw strong growth in the amount of rubber-wheeled traffic, and Helsinki strengthened its position in comparison to competing ports,” said Ville Haapasaari, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Helsinki.

“With regard to passenger traffic, however, the year was even poorer than anticipated, even though ship travel levels picked up again slightly in the autumn,” Haapasaari added.

Cargo traffic remained busy during the second year of the pandemic, which helped to ensure that consumer goods and raw materials and supplies required for purposes such as industrial operations also remained available in Finland during the exceptional circumstances.

In Helsinki, the impact of disruptions in global maritime traffic, such as the blockage of the Suez Canal in March, the shortage in containers and the large increase in the prices of container cargo, was mostly evident in the increase in the amount of cargo transported on trailers.

The Port of Helsinki handled 14.4 million tonnes of cargoes , of which 6.6 million tonnes were import and 7.7 million tonnes were export.

Most of the goods transported via the Port of Helsinki are unitized cargo for Finland’s foreign trade, i.e. cargo transported on lorries, trailers and containers.

The amount of unitized cargo reached an all-time high in 2021, at 12.1 million tonnes (+9.2%). The volumes of cargo transported on lorries and trailers and in containers were 8.4 million tonnes (+15.5%) and 467,000 Twenty Equivalent Units- TEUs respectively.

In the second year of the pandemic, Finland continued imposing strict travel restrictions. Internal border control in the EU’s Schengen area ended on 25 July 2021 but was restarted on 28 December.

In 2021, the total number of passengers to pass through the Port of Helsinki was 3,749,000.

Liner traffic carried 3.7 million passengers, which was clearly less than the number of passengers recorded during the first year of the pandemic, decreasing by 21.4%.

As usual, the majority of the passengers, 3.2 million (-23%), travelled the route between Helsinki and Tallinn.