Scandinavian American

Extension Of Gothenburg Port

The port of Gothenburg, Sweden's major foreign commerce port, handling approximately 23 per cent of the country's imports and 30 per cent of its exports, is since a couple of years ago carrying out a large-scale extension of its facilities, prompted by the growing international traffic. At present the port has more than 36,000 feet of quay space available, most of which was built in the years immediately preceding the war, and this year a quay with a length of 1,300 feet is being completed for passenger traffic to England, while work is in full swing for another quay intended for North Sea and Mediterranean trade. The program is scheduled for completion in 1951.

In the Freeport, also, another basin is being constructed with space for two more liners. Warehouse space in use totals 1,570,000 square feet, representing a 70% increase during the past ten years. The warehouses now under construction will add another 645,000 square feet of modern storage space. Three or four stories high, heated throughout and with refrigeration space in some basements, they are equipped with efficient cargo-handling equipment such as loading platforms, chutes, lifts and overhead travelling cranes. A large new oil refinery built by Stora Kopparberg and the Transatlantic Shipping Company, both prominent Swedish concerns, with a capacity of 2,000,000 litres daily of the refined product, commenced operations last July.

Traffic increases rapidly. In 1948—a good average year—4,935 ships engaged in foreign trade and aggregating 5,200,000 tons net brought in 2,760,000 tons of needed imports while taking 1,230,000 tons of Swedish export commodities, with transit cargos totaling 200,000 tons. Passenger traffic to and from Gothenburg is increasing rapidly. This summer the liners of the Swedish Lloyd, operating several services a week to England, and the Swedish-American Line have been fully booked, promising new records. The tourist traffic is still lively and the Swedish Lloyd has recently decided to extend its winter sailings to two services a week instead of one as before. Gothenburg is also Sweden's biggest shipyard center, and the three largest yards, Gotaverken, Eriksberg and Lindholmen have in recent years carried through considerable extensions and are today better equipped than ever before. Thus, for instance, Gotaverken will now be able to build tankers, cargo and passenger liners up to 30,000 tons.