The Szczecin-based company announced on social media that, as part of one of its assignments, it handled a vessel carrying 42,150 tons of palm kernel shells (PKS). This was an exceptional order for the company, marking the largest cargo handling operation in its history to date.

The remarkable operation, carried out at the Katowice Quay in the Port of Szczecin, was made possible thanks to infrastructure upgrades implemented by the Szczecin and Świnoujście Seaports Authority. As a result, the operational draft for surface vessels increased from 9 to 11 meters. According to the operator, this allows the port to accommodate increasingly larger vessels and perform operations at a higher level of efficiency.

The cargo handling was carried out on the bulk carrier Bulk Venus (IMO: 9744520), sailing under the Singapore flag. Built in 2017, the vessel is 199 meters long and 32 meters wide, with a deadweight of up to 35,832 GT. The cargo on board is used as biofuel, including in the energy sector as an alternative energy source for power plants and heating plants, in sustainable industrial applications for renewable energy production, and in the logistics of ecological raw materials as a component in fuel mixes. Orders of this kind aim to strengthen the position of the Szczecin operator as a key node in the European biofuel supply chain.

Previously, Bulk Cargo – Port Szczecin had already reported new records regarding the cargoes handled and the sizes of vessels calling at the port. The technical depth of the quays now reaches 12.5 meters. This is part of several major works in the port carried out under the EU “Infrastructure and Environment Operational Program” for the 2014–2020 financial perspective. Increasing accessibility for vessels of the mentioned draft is intended to make the port more competitive.

The cost of the works amounted to PLN 343.1 million. The project investor is the Szczecin and Świnoujście Seaports Authority, with the contractor being the Sopot-based company Grupa NDI, and project supervision carried out by Sweco. The modernization involved, among other things, the expansion of three active quays and the construction of two new ones. This required the delivery and use of tens of thousands of cubic meters of concrete and many kilometers of steel pipes, sheet piles, and piles to reinforce the structures. Numerous challenges arose from unexploded ordnance and other hazardous remnants discovered along the Szczecin–Świnoujście route, mainly dating back to World War II.