Port Bronka welcomes first passengers (photo)
A ro-ro/passenger ferry Finnstar owned by Finnlines which moored at Multipurpose Sea Cargo Complex "Bronka" (MSCC Bronka, Big Port St. Petersburg) on May 30, 2016 brought 28 passengers from Helsinki (Finland), says IAA PortNews reporter.
The passengers left for sightseeing in Saint-Petersburg.
The same day saw a presentation of the Rо-Rо terminal held in the port for the interested companies.
Aleksei Shukletsov, Executive Director of Fenix LLC (Bronka project investor) said: “It is the first ferry to carry passengers to Bronka. We count on the development of a regular passenger service between Saint-Petersburg, Helsinki and Baltic ports of Germany.
He also said that customs and border procedures were executed as required by check points’ regulations.
“State control authorities were fast to do their formalities with passengers. There were no delays which demonstrates high level of organization and services provided at port Bronka,” emphasized Aleksei Shukletsov.
Hannu Lumme, Head of Unit Marketing & Sales Russia, Finnlines, confirmed that the call was arranged in compliance with high standards.
“Passengers were satisfied as border control procedure was fast. The level of organisation is almost the same as at Allegro train (Saint-Petersburg-Helsinki)”, said Hannu Lumme.
He explained that the route via Bronka is supposed mainly for tours around Saint-Petersburg suburbs (Peterhoff, Oranienbaum). In his opinion such routes will be popular among the Finnish tourists.
Passengers including those who travel by their own cars will leave for Helsinki on May 30th in the evening.
Finnstar is owned by Grimaldi Group, one of the world’s largest operators of ro-ro vessels making regular calls to Saint-Petersburg and a number of European ports. Finnstar Ro-pax ferry Finnstar has 4 cargo decks for 276 trailers and 133 cars and can accommodate up to 550 passengers in 201 cabins on her three decks. The ferry’s total capacity is 4,216 linear metres. With a length of 218 metres and a width of 30.5 metres, the ship has a maximum speed of 26.7 knots (50 km/h).
Phase I of Multipurpose Sea Cargo Complex "Bronka" (MSCC Bronka) has a capacity of 1.45 million TEUs and 260,000 units of Ro-Ro cargoes. In future the MSCC Bronka expansion will help increase the facility's container throughput to 1.9 million TEUs. Upon completion of the port's construction MSCC Bronka will be able to accommodate Post-Panamax containerships and the ferries of Finnstar class.
MSCC Bronka will comprise three specialized facilities: a container terminal encompassing 107 hectares, the Ro-Ro terminal of 57 ha and a logistics center of 42 ha. Container terminal will have a 1,220 m-long quay wall (including 5 berths). The length of Ro-Ro terminal's dock line will be 710 meters (3 berths).
Implementation of the Bronka project is expected to generate 2,300 jobs at its marine terminals alone.
