“A vital and direct role”
In conversation with Charles Baker, CEO of the Baltic Hub Container Terminal (BHCT). In 2019 PSA International, in a joint venture with the Polish Development Fund and the IFM Global Infrastructure Fund, made its first investment in Central and Eastern Europe by acquiring the Deepwater Container Terminal Gdańsk, which was rebranded the Baltic Hub Container Terminal in 2022. Its CEO Charles Baker took some time out to tell the ITJ how well it is developing.
What role would the stakeholders in Baltic Hub Container Terminal (BHCT) like to play in the region and how is having PSA as a partner beneficial?
All three stakeholders plan to further develop and strengthen BHCT’s position as the preferred port in Poland and the region. BHCT benefits from PSA International’s knowledge and experience in creating value for port and shipping communities to deliver more efficient, flexible and robust supply chain solutions for the region.
BHCT plays a vital and direct role in the Polish economy at the regional and national levels. As a reliable business partner and a large firm we rely on services and supplies from thousands of small, medium and large enterprises in Poland. Our success also provides opportunities and business for them.
How is the terminal positioned?
Baltic Hub is the number one container terminal in the Baltic Sea region in terms of size and volume and is ranked 13th in Europe. Our premier complex boasts unique location and connectivity advantages to the hinterland, thus strengthening the port of Gdańsk’s position in Europe.
We offer our clients unparalleled capabilities, featuring 25-row outreach cranes and a 17 m draught to handle the largest container vessels of over 24,000 teu, alongside exceptional intermodal connectivity on the landside.
How has the business withstood the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine?
The ongoing geopolitical and economic turmoil in various parts of the world has caused a reduction in transhipment volumes at many European ports and traffic shifts in Poland too. The negative impact on business due to the Russian attack on Ukraine was mitigated by growth in Polish, Central and Eastern European and Ukrainian containerised cargo volumes.
Which countries benefit from the hub?
We don’t just call ourselves Baltic Hub. Being a hub is an important role we play as a significant transhipment port that serves the Baltic region.
Expanding Baltic Hub’s rail links is a key part of our strategy to better connect the port with Eastern and Central Europe. The terminal currently already handles around 700 trains a month and provides transport within Poland and to and from Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary and Ukraine.
What are the regular maritime frequencies that the BHCT provides?
Baltic Hub offers three regular direct Far East–Europe services with mega-vessels per week, namely 2M’s AE10 / Silk service, the Ocean Alliance’s AEU1 service and CMA CGM’s FAL1 service. We also offer multiple weekly feeder and shortsea connections to most of the Baltic and North Sea ports.
We expect many changes from the first quarter of 2025 onwards, however, with the end of the 2M cooperation and the start of the new Gemini Cooperation between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd.
What other developments are there?
Work continues on various fronts. On 5 June 2024 the foundation stone was laid for our T3 terminal, which will increase total capacity by 1.5 to 4.5 million teu. Since then, the first phase of construction works to prepare the yards and infrastructure for container storage has been completed.
Four of the 20 RMG cranes are being assembled in T3’s yard and the next four will arrive by road in late September. The main quay wall has also been completed.
Four quay cranes for T3 departed from China in August. We expect them to reach Baltic Hub in late October. Construction is scheduled for completion in 2025.
What makes T3 special?
The new facility will be semi-automatic and will provide a safe and efficient environment. The cranes will accelerate our work and enhance safety, including an OCR system for automatic container number recognition and anti-collision tools.
BHCT also has ambitious sustainability targets to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030 compared to 2019, and completely eliminate them by 2050.