In order to reduce the number of reloading activities performed, Port Gdański Eksploatacja purchased new reloading equipment, much more efficient than those that had been in operation before. Some of them are already working on the quays, together with water curtains and cannons generating fog and reducing dust.

Soon, two Liebherr LHM 550 mobile cranes will be delivered to the Dworzec Drzewny Quay. The first in the second half of June 2023, the second at the end of the year. The cranes are equipped with coal and ore grabs and a universal container spreader, allowing you to reload more coal in the same time and with fewer operations. On the Szczecińskie Quay in December this year. two new Liebherr LHM 280 mobile cranes will be delivered. They are equipped for handling bulk cargo such as coal and grain and for handling coiled sheets (c-hooks), and have one universal container spreader. Contracts are signed for all these cranes and payments are made in accordance with the schedule contained in the contract.

– PG Eksploatacja also purchased a car wash for wheels and car chassis operating in a closed circuit, and its assembly is nearing completion. It is fully mobile and it does not release any pollutants outside the facility. Ultimately, it will operate in the coming days in the area of the Górniczy Basin in the part of the newly paved square between the F1 Security Station and truck scales. It is a mobile device with automatic scraper conveyors for removing impurities – announces Łukasz Malinowski, President of the Port of Gdańsk Authority SA.

Moreover, PG Eksploatacja organized and purchased about 70 water curtains and water mist cannons and implements the recommendations of pouring water on storage yards in the Górniczy Basin Region. Other operators also use similar solutions. In addition, yards are cleaned wet, and the collected raw material is transported to landfills provided for this purpose. The port also cooperates with firefighters, using their knowledge. In the event of strong winds, when the Harbor Master's Office suspends work on the quays, operators are also to suspend reloading work, and they must not load coal onto trucks from high altitudes to reduce dusting. Most of the coal is to leave the port area by rail, which uses conveyor belts and loaders to reload the raw material. Conveyor belts also need to be watered.

Cleaning of streets and processing of heaps

The Port of Gdańsk and all operators operating here clean communication routes, i.e. roads, sidewalks, car parks, mooring paths, located on land properties owned by the Port of Gdańsk Authority. In addition, as agreed with the administrator of public roads, the port cleans roads belonging to the city. The current action will be carried out until July 15, and if there is still such a need, it will be continued. Currently, the streets Ku Ujście, Trasa Sucharskiego, Przetoczna, the tunnel under the Martwa Wisła river, the beginning of ul. Płażyński. In total, it is over 287,000. square meters of space.

At the same time, coal handling companies sprinkle heaps according to weather conditions. In order to prevent dusting, communication routes and storage yards are cleaned with wet equipment dedicated to such work, and the waste collected in this way are transported to landfills. A cellulose and polymer preparation is used on the heaps to reduce dust, and in the case of heaps, which, under the influence of a large amount of water poured on them, start to steam and smoke, they must be compacted in order to cut off the oxygen supply to the smoldering fires. This may generate smoke and steam, which will cease once the heap has stabilized. Compaction is carried out in accordance with the technology implemented by companies dealing with coal storage on a daily basis. The raw material is stored longer than laminated, which results in surface bonding and significant wind resistance.

Reloading of coal and grain

In the area of the port of Gdańsk, in the summer, the operators will continue to reload coal with such intensity as will be allowed by transport organized by recipients of this raw material in the country. The closer it gets to autumn, the collection and reloading of coal for the next heating period will also take place.

– The raw material is imported not only for the needs of households, but also for CHP plants to provide entire cities with heat and electricity. Logistics companies employed, e.g. by CHP plants will deliver coal to destinations, adhering to the guidelines regarding the speed of transport and covering loads with tarpaulins. Most loads, about 80 percent, leaves the port by rail – says Kamil Tarczewski, Vice-President of the Port of Gdańsk Authority.

In the case of road transport, if the carriers do not comply with the procedures, the Port will cooperate with the Police in order to enforce the rules for moving heavy loads on public roads.

The companies reloading coal at the port of Gdańsk include: Port of Gdańsk Eksploatacja, Przedsiębiorstwo Przeładunkowo-Składowe Port Północny, Rudoport, J&S Energy, Przedsiębiorstwo Przeładunkowo-Składowe Siark-Port, Speed, Węglobud and Weglokoks, Handel i Minerały Nowak and Polcopper. From the beginning of the increased transshipment of coal at the Port of Gdańsk, the Port Authority has been in dialogue with the operators in order to minimize the negative effects of transshipment in the form of excessive dusting. Port operators ensure that they are doing everything in their power to limit these effects on an ongoing basis. Representatives of the Port also stay in touch with them every day and react to the situation in the squares on an ongoing basis. Coal from the area leased by Siark-Port is to be removed by the end of May.

Less pollution, more parking and sensors

In order to relieve potential congestion caused by trucks, the PGA designated areas for the organization of buffer points for trucks. These parking spaces are located at: Budowniczych Portu Płn. (150 parking spaces), Ku Ujściu (80 parking spaces), Załogowa (currently approx. 50 parking spaces, with the possibility of increasing to 300), Śnieżna-Handlowa (170 parking spaces). Buffer car parks are also planned at ul. Kontenerowa (for 600 cars) and Builders of the Northern Port (for 150 cars). Currently, it is also applying for permission from the City of Gdańsk for further parking spaces for cars in the vicinity of the Port, due to the possible increase in the number of grain transports from warehouses throughout Poland to the Port and further by ships to destination countries.

In addition, an application has been placed on the website www.portgdansk.pl that allows you to view historical data on air quality for all sensors located in the port area. Thanks to it, you can find out what the air quality is in a given place on a given day, but also how it has changed over the past few days. Four new graphs include hourly averaged data for 3 days back and daily averaged data for 7 days back. Air quality sensors YetiBox are located in seven locations: in the Duty Free Zone, at the Szczecińskie, Oliwskie and Krakowskie quays, Zakręt Pięciu Gwizdków, at ul. of the Marynarki Polskiej and in the Outer Port. Data charts are available at: https://bit.ly/3pQdSm9. Data on air quality are also provided by Radio Gdańsk. The Port of Gdańsk is also planning to install another even more sensitive sensor in a location indicated by the Nowy Port District Council.

The PGA, together with representatives of the Nowy Port district, is working to obtain the consent of the administrator of urban areas for new plantings in Nowy Port and talks with other districts to plant more trees there as well. Currently, the port wants to plant 4,000 trees, for which it needs a formal consent of the administrator of urban areas. In Nowy Port, the planting project would take place along ul. Oliwska.