At the HHLA TK Estonia terminal in the port of Muuga, a new double ramp for ro-ro ships was put into operation. Eckerö Line will use it on its vessel MS Finbo Cargo. Thanks to the double ramp, more trade between Estonia and Finland can be routed through the port of Muuga rather than through the Vanasadam port in the centre of Tallinn.
“The freight line between Muuga and Vuosaari has proven itself over the years and is well received by logistics companies, as it is a much more convenient and cost-effective alternative to routing transit through Vanasadam while transporting cargo between Estonia and Finland in both directions,” commented Valdo Kalm, chairman of the board of the Port of Tallinn. “The introduction of two-level ramps in the ports of Muuga and Vuosaari will significantly speed up the process of loading and unloading vehicles and will allow removing even more cargo traffic from the city centre, which in turn will reduce the load on the transport infrastructure of the city of Tallinn.”
“Eckerö Line’s freight volume has grown in recent years and our goal is to increase it even further,” said Taru Keronen, CEO of Eckerö Line. “The commissioning of double ramps in the ports of Muuga and Vuosaari makes it possible to simultaneously load trucks, passenger cars, and trailers onto MS Finbo Cargo on two levels. We are the only shipping company in the Gulf of Finland that redirects part of the passenger car traffic and over 60% of the cargo traffic from the centres of Tallinn and Helsinki. The ports of Muuga and Vuosaari are located close to the major highways and are easily accessible.”
The new double ramp is located in the HHLA TK Estonia multifunctional terminal at the port of Muuga, through which most of Estonia’s trade with the rest of the world passes.
“From the point of view of our terminal, thanks to the new ramp, we will be able to speed up the work, but in addition to improving the existing traffic flow, we also create an important potential for the future growth of trade in the north-south direction,” said Riia Sillave, chairman of the board of HHLA TK Estonia.
The length of the adjustable ramp at the upper level of berth 13 of the port of Muuga is 152 meters, and the width of the road surface is 6 meters. The weight of the metal part of the ramp is about 400 tons, which allows servicing trucks weighing up to 76 tons.
The ramp was designed by the engineering offices Estkonsult OÜ and MEC Insenerilahendused OÜ. Insenerehituse AS was the general contractor for the entire project, Ciest Metal OÜ produced the metal sections, and Arthüdro OÜ manufactured the hydraulic solutions.
The total cost of the project was 5 million euros. 30% of the construction work was co-financed by the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program within the framework of project 2019-EU-TM-0192-W (TWIN-PORT IV).
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