Throughout its history, the Port of Loviisa has primarily been an export port. Yet during the past year, transit traffic to Russia ceased as a result of  EU sanctions and imports vastly increased.

Although 2022 traffic volumes at the Port of Loviisa were similar to previous years, goods flows changed in terms of both their direction and composition.

“I doubt there has ever been such a major change in the port’s entire history,” says CEO Tiina Vepsäläinen.

Although transit traffic to Russia ceased altogether, imports have risen. The rerouting of imports also reflects the fact that there has been no traffic in the Saimaa Canal. The canal hasn’t been closed, but shipping companies have not wanted to use it. One of the port’s customers, who has a cement import terminal in Loviisa, also used to use the canal for some its traffic flows. Last year, the port built a new cement silo for this customer, both to increase storage capacity and, more importantly, to make imports of this type of cement more environmentally friendly. The extension was completed in the summer and was immediately in heavy use.

“It was a well-timed investment. When the Saimaa Canal route was no longer operational, deliveries were redirected to Loviisa,” says Vepsäläinen.

The biggest growth in imports was seen in construction industry products.

“Imports of energy fractions also increased. That means woodchips, pellets, energy wood and energy bales – all of the products that industry is harnessing in order to make the green transition away from fossil fuels.”

Energy fractions and raw materials for the construction industry arrive in Loviisa via a number of routes, and are shipped directly from several ports all across Europe. The market itself is extensive.

“We’ve found routes to adapt to the major changes that have occurred in the world, thereby guaranteeing the availability of goods and raw materials,” says Vepsäläinen.

Environmental permits updated

The Port of Loviisa’s goods flows mainly consist of international traffic. There is also some coastal traffic that did not exist a few years ago.

The port has also introduced new services for processing the increasing volumes of energy fractions. For example, stemwood can now be chipped within the port area. The port’s environmental permit had to be updated to enable this.

Changes in goods flows have expanded the port’s customer base.

“New goods flows have brought us new customers. Transit traffic consisted of large goods flows via a few customers. Now we handle significantly smaller batches with many different customers,” says the CEO.

There are now two operators at the port to serve this larger number of customers.  BB Logistics has started up alongside Loviisa Forwarding & Stevedoring (aka LFS).

“This is a positive sign that both the port and its possibilities are of interest. We can make choices for customers in order to find the best and most suitable service for them,” says Vepsäläinen.

Warehouses to be renovated

This year, investments at the Port of Loviisa will focus on the aforementioned changes in goods flows. The area that was previously used for transit traffic will be paved, enabling it to be used for a more diverse range of goods traffic.

“There are railway tracks on both sides of the area, so it can be utilised for both road and rail transport in accordance with the customer’s needs. We also have warehouses that are, in practice, simply canopies. These are now being made more versatile,” says Vepsäläinen.

The monetary value of this year’s investments will be about half a million euros, which is typical for the Port of Loviisa.

“Last year, we invested in expanding the cement terminal and building a new area for storing bioenergy fractions. These investments totalled about EUR 3 million and were enormous for us,” says Vepsäläinen.