Hamburg sees surge in Russian traffic after WTO accession

Container traffic with Russia was up by a further 13.3% in 2012, consolidating the lead in foreign trade with Europe and overseas via Hamburg. This positive trend is also attributable to Russia’s decision to join the WTO, resulting in associated simplifications in commercial law as well as the dismantling of trade barriers.

“We’re particularly pleased that Hamburg managed to raise its share of container traffic in St Petersburg to 25.3% last year. That’s 1.6% more than in 2011, which indicates enlarged market share within the North Range ports for this route,” emphasises Axel Mattern, executive board member of Port of Hamburg Marketing.

Just less than 95% of the total direct traffic between Russia and Hamburg is handled via the seaport of St Petersburg, Russia’s so-called “Window to Europe”. This Russian Baltic Sea port itself handled roughly 2.53m teu in 2012, equivalent to an increase by 6.7% year-on-year.