The article discusses the activities of ports in the Baltic Sea Region aimed at developing co-modality. Examples of port initiatives from Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania, Russia, and Poland regarding infrastructure development and connections with the European TEN-T transport network are provided. Examples of European Union programs are also presented.INTRODUCTION
The Baltic Sea Region (BSR) is one of the most dynamically developing areas. Russia is classified among the group of countries with the fastest economic growth dynamics (the so-called BRIC group – Brazil, Russia, India, China). Finland, Denmark, and Sweden are at the forefront of countries with a high level of innovation. The Baltic Region also hosts societies with the highest degree of digitalization. Finally, a key advantage in the current era is that the region is politically stable.
There are approximately 210 ports operating in the Baltic Sea Region, which saw a dynamic increase in cargo handling from about 600 million tons to over 820 million tons between 1995 and 2010.
The 10 largest Baltic ports handle about 50% of the cargo of all ports in this region, and the top five account for about 30% [2], [3]. Among them, the two largest Russian ports on the Baltic, Primorsk and St. Petersburg, occupy the first two places. Particularly high supply dynamics concerned bulk cargo (mainly crude oil), containers, and ro-ro [4], [16].
According to the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee, and the Committee of the Regions of June 2006, “Freight transport logistics covers the planning, organization, control, and execution of freight transport activities in the supply chain and the management of such activities” [12].
Co-modality is defined as the efficient use of transport modes operating separately or integrated multimodally within the European transport system to achieve optimal and sustainable resource utilization. Multimodality, in turn, consists of transporting goods (regardless of their type) by two or more modes of transport within a single transport chain [12].
The transport system of the Baltic Sea Region, including the ports operating in this region, is integrated into the European transport system both through shipping connections with the largest oceanic ports and through land transport corridors. (…)
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Source: Logistyka Magazine 4/2011