DCT Gdansk received the largest container vessel ever to call in Poland on January 4, when the 8,200TEU 'Maersk Taikung', measuring 332 metres arrived from the Far East.
From January 2010, Maersk post-Panamax ships sailing on Maersk Line's AE10 service from China will call at DCT Gdansk every Monday bringing Polish, Russian and Finnish cargo to be discharged at DCT Gdansk.
This marks the beginning of a new era in container shipping linking directly Poland to Asia, and the development of DCT Gdansk as a hub in the Baltic Sea, as Russian and Finnish cargo will be transhipped to feeders from DCT Gdansk to their final destinations.
"We will still have ample capacity to handle additional services from other lines," said DCT Gdansk's CEO, Boris Wenzel.
"We already have on-going talks with other carriers interested in making regular calls at DCT Gdansk. With the AE10 contract signed, we immediately ordered two new RTG cranes which will be commissioned at the end of next month and we will continue to evaluate options for additional equipment purchases."
DCT Gdansk is an ideal port location with a 17-metre deep approach channel and 16.5 metres along the berth. As the 'Maersk Taikung' demonstrated, ice-class vessels are not required for calls at DCT Gdansk, even during harsh winter conditions. Carriers can bring their Russian and Finnish containers to DCT and feed deeper into the Baltic using smaller feeder vessels, which are readily available.
The Maersk call has already initiated two new feeder services from Gdansk to St Petersburg and to the Finnish ports of Kotka and Helsinki.
