The second week of May saw an incredible amount of activity in the port of Piteå. Eight ships were loaded and/or unloaded from Saturday to Saturday (May 7-14).
- It is times like these that our experience and flexibility are crucial, says Ola Isaksson, acting site manager for ShoreLink Terminal in Piteå. We have extensive experience with all forms of cargo and at the same time we are very flexible in that we can staff with our own personnel from other ports that at that time have slightly less activity.
All possible forms of goods
Every week two ship lines call at the port of Piteå, Wagenborg's ships that primarily load kraftliner from Smurfit Kappa and TransAtlantic's container ships that load and unload kraftliner and sawn timber in containers. This week these lines were supplemented with additional ships, which meant that almost 12 tons of liner left the port this week and approximately 000 TEUs (twenty feet equivalent containers) were handled over the quay.
In addition to these, a ship was loaded with 16 m000 of sawn timber destined for Alexandria and two ships were unloaded, one with aluminum hydroxide and one with 3 m3 of pulpwood.
- Yes, we have really had a week with a lot of activity, says Carina Lundström, site manager for ShoreLink's Shipping operations in Piteå. It is a great advantage that we work within the same group and at the same location as the terminal operations. It is easy to find solutions and incredibly flexible.
The ships also carry individual goods, such as cars, caravans and sometimes single heavy goods. This week, for example, an 80-ton turbine was unloaded, which meant that a joint lift with two cranes had to be carried out as there are limitations in the quay.
Wind power on top of everything
ShoreLink has unloaded many different types of special cargo and we have a lot of experience with wind power. Last year, four large ships containing 360 parts of wind power were unloaded and for a few years now, most wind turbines have been unloaded in Piteå. This time, a ship from Vietnam was unloaded with 50 parts for wind turbine towers, a total of 3100 tons of cargo. The other components for the wind turbines will probably also be unloaded in Piteå. Then four ships will arrive with parts from factories in Europe.