In 2022, we have maintained our cargo handling curve at a similar level as in 2021, handling a total of 1 million tonnes of various cargoes, while the handling of agricultural products and pellets grew by 10% to 686 thousand tonnes. In the same period in 2021, these cargoes amounted to - 626 thousand tonnes.
The volume of grain handled at the MIP accounted for 20% of the total grain handled at the port, and the terminal's total capacity for handling bulk cargo amounts to - 1.25 million tonnes per year. The port has a leading position in the handling of roundwood, but due to geopolitical factors, the handling of roundwood dropped slightly to 217 thousand m3 in 2022 and 260 thousand m3 in 2021.
"We managed to maintain a consistent loading curve last year because we were able to react quickly to the market situation, which was affected by the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, and we found non-standard solutions for one-off orders. We also built an additional new covered warehouse with a capacity of 12,000 tonnes of various bulk cargoes, which created additional opportunities for our customers to store larger volumes of bulk cargoes," said Julius Kiršis, the CEO of the terminal, on the peculiarities of the last year's handling.
According to the terminal manager, last year's standout month was August. We handled a record number of different cargoes in one month, which amounted to 175,000 tonnes, including 138,000 tonnes of bulk cargo.
Our terminal handled 140 ships in 2022 and 170 ships in 2021. "The number of ships served has been decreasing for a very clear reason: after the reconstruction of berth 142 and the deepening of the berth to 14.5 m, we are able to load larger quantities of cargo per ship and serve Panamax vessels," says Mr Kiršis.
According to Mr Kiršis, we have invested EUR 5 million in MIT in the past year to increase our loading capacity. We have reconstructed the warehouse yard, built a new 3,200 m2 bulk warehouse, acquired one of the largest electrically powered hydraulic cranes in the Baltic States with a loading capacity of 1,300 t/h, a front-end loader and other equipment essential for the terminal's operation.
MIT is a member of the Klaipėda Terminal Group, a group of companies providing cargo handling, logistics, freight forwarding and ship agency services. MĮT has 40 employees and a total handling capacity of up to 2,5 million tonnes of cargo per year.