The Port of Klaipėda () is a

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

located in

Klaipėda Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. It is one of the few ice-free ports in northernmost Europe. It serves as a port of call for cruise ships as well as freight transport. Regular cargo and passenger ferry lines connect to German and Swedish ports

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

, Travemünde,

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

, Karlshamn and

Trelleborg Trelleborg () is a town in Skåne County, Sweden, with 43,359 inhabitants as of 31 December 2015. It is the southernmost town in Sweden located some west from the Smygehuk, southernmost point of Sweden and the Scandinavian Peninsula. It is one ...

. Main deepsea container lines operating in Klaipėda port are: Maersk, MSC, CMA-CGM, Happag-Lloyd, One,

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

, OOCL, Cosco. Shortsea carriers operating in Klaipėda port: Unifeeder, ViaSea, X-press.

History

The city of Klaipėda () has been involved in maritime trade as early as the 13th century, and probably during prehistoric times, since it is located on the Amber Road. For several centuries its administration as well as its merchants defended the port and it was heavily fortified. In the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

, most of the trade was handled via the Port of Danzig, Port of

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

and Port of

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

. Therefore, Klaipėda emerged as a major trading port only in recent centuries. At the beginning of the 20th century the port was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport of Lithuania. Before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the major cargo was timber. During the 20th century, mineral and cellulose enterprises were established in Lithuania, and became port commodities. Infrastructure supporting the fishing and shipbuilding industries were also built.

Current operations

Klaipėda State Seaport Authority () was established in 1991, soon after the restoration of Lithuania's independence. It administers the port and supports its integration into the larger scheme of Lithuanian transport. The Port Authority is responsible for the maintenance, reconstruction and modernisation of the port infrastructure, while loading and unloading operations are managed by separate independent terminals. The port's land and infrastructure belong to the state, but some privatisization is underway. The Port of Klaipėda is the most northerly ice-free port in the Eastern part of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. The port can accommodate ships of up to 400 meters in length with draughts of up to 14.3 meters. The port is served by two railway stations and a highways which together link Klaipėda to

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

and cities in the nearby countries, such as

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

and

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. In 1997, 16.13 million tons of cargo were handled at the port, increasing to over 31 million tons in 2010. About 321,000 international passengers transhipped the port of Klaipėda in 2010, on ferries servicing

and Mukran in Germany, Åhus in Sweden, and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and

Fredericia Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region Denmark, Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vej ...

in Denmark. In 2015, the Port Authority hired Austrian company Strabag for dredging the shipping channel to the depth of 15 metres. In 2023, the shipping channel was deepened to 15.5 metres. In August 2023, it was announced that ~115 million euros will be invested in the infrastructure of offshore wind power plants in the port of Klaipėda. 2023, like 2022, was a successful year for the port in terms of container handling. Annual load exceeded 1 million teu. Some of the major companies or objects operating in the port: * BLRT Western Shipyard * DFDS Seaways * Limarko laivininkystės kompanija * Klaipėda LNG FSRU * * Klaipėdos Smeltė AB * Klaipėdos Nafta

Gallery

File:Klaipeda_Port_3.jpg, Ships in the port File:Klaipedos uostas.jpg, Embankment of the cruise ship terminal File:Klaipedos uostas1.jpg, Cargo loading File:Port of Klaipėda, 2006 (03).jpg, Harbour File:Klaipėdos jūros vartai.Iš aukščiau.jpg, Sea gate File:Costa Magica in Memel.JPG, Cruise ship Costa Magica visiting the port File:From Texas to Lithuania 140930-A-WU246-060.jpg, US military equipment transferred as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve

References

External links

The Port of Klaipėda official website

About the Port of Klaipėda

Ferry from Germany to Klaipeda - DFDS Seaways (Germany)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Port of Klaipeda Ports and harbours of Lithuania Transport in Klaipėda Klaipeda

History

Current operations

Gallery

See also

References

External links