Baltic Ports Could Compete with Russia

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

29 May 2009

Ports in the Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are overcoming their reputation as a cargo bottleneck and could compete with St. Petersburg, Russia, for breakbulk shipments into the Russian interior and Central Asian nations, some shipping professionals say. Speakers at a panel at The Journal of Commerce's Breakbulk Europe conference in Antwerp said infrastructure and rail equipment remain problems, but that difficulties with customs clearance at the Russian border no longer are insurmountable.
Mogens Ellerbaek, managing director of the project division at DSV Air & Sea A/A in Denmark, said Baltic ports also could become an alternate to Pakistan for military shipments to Afghanistan, if Russian diplomatic approval can be secured -- something he said could happen within months.
Ellerbaek said customs documentation is comparable to other European Union countries. He also said the August 1998 devaluation of Russia's ruble, which undercut the Baltic republics' economies, may have turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the Baltic nations had to develop their own economies instead of depending so much on Russia.
Although ports in the region have made strides, Ellerbaek said they need to focus on developing their strengths instead of trying to be all things to all people. "We have the Baltic ports trying to become world-class in everything. They cannot be," he said, because they'll be unable to attract needed investment if they scatter their efforts.

Source: Journal of Commerce