Comparison of port activities of the East Coast of the Baltic Sea: 1996–2016

The object of research is the performance of ports in the East Coast of the Baltic Sea for the period from 1996 to 2016. By comparing the performance of Russian ports and ports in the Baltic States, the trend of significant growth in cargo turnover in the ports of the region is revealed. The aggregate cargo turnover in the ports of Russia and the Baltic States has increased 4.5-fold over the last 20 years. An analysis of the comparative performance of all the ports of the East Coast of the Baltic Sea for 20 years has shown their growing relevance in development of economic and trade relations between the Asian and European regions. Despite a sharp increase in cargo transshipment in the newly constructed Russian ports (24 times in 20 years), the ports of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia still show positive dynamics (twice in 20 years). Contrary to the current opinion on the decrease in the role of ports in the Baltic countries, the article shows the factors of their development, including the participation of Russian capital in the construction of new terminals in the ports of Latvia and Estonia (Riga, Sillamäe), and by attracting cargo from other regions (Lithuania, Klaipeda). All ports of the East Coast of the Baltic Sea Region have development of potential in expanding ties with the rapidly developing Asian region (China, India). The volumes of transit between Europe and Eurasia are constantly growing, and only in the first quarter of this year the supplies from Europe to China grew by 12 %, and from China to Europe – by 7 %, amounting to 62 billion USD and 81 billion USD respectively. An analysis of the Baltic ports is also important in connection with the development of the large and promising Belarusian project «Great Stone», of which the Chinese national logistics company is a partner and which should connect China via Belarus with the German port of Duisburg. Thus, the possibility of organizing multimodal transportation from Germany to China via the Riga port is being considered because of the limited capacity of the Polish and Slovak railways to transport Chinese goods through the Minsk logistics center «Great Stone» to Europe. In this context, the use of the Riga port with a large potential for development of the port territories can significantly strengthen its economic position, and thereby influence the growth of the Latvian economy. The following factors influence the development of transport corridors in the Baltic Sea Region in order of importance: geography, economics, politics, transport infrastructure and new technologies of logistics business. If we talk about the ports of the Baltic countries, then there is a narrowing of geographical plans due to the reorientation of cargo to Russian ports. The economy is influenced by tariff policy. The influence of politics is still great. The most optimistic is the impact of transport infrastructure.