Swinoujscie (Poland)

Swinoujscie (fka Swinemunde) is a major ferry port in northwestern Poland. The seaport is located on the Baltic Sea (in Szczecin Lagoon), on the islands Usedom and Wolin. Swinoujscie is on Swina River's both banks (no road link across the river). Local transport is provided by regularly scheduled (free of charge) ferries. There are plans for building a road tunnel under the river, with scheduled completion by 2020-2021.

The town has a population of around 42,000, and directly borders with Germany's Ahlbeck (seaside resort on Usedom Island). Both are connected via 12 km (7 mi) long beachside promenade.

Port Swinoujscie

There are 4 railway stations (on Wolin Island) with direct and regular connections to Szczecin. Since September 2008, a railway connects to Ahlbeck, linking Swinoujscie directly to Germany's railway network. The nearest airport (Heringsdorf, Germany) is approx 13 km (8 mi) to the west and serves mainly seasonal / tourist traffic. The nearest year-round airport is in Szczecin (approx 80 km / 50 mi to the southeast).

Port Swinoujscie (locode PLSWI) has Poland's largest ferry terminal, with regularly scheduled daily connections to Denmark and Sweden.

• Swinoujscie to Ystad Sweden ferry links are offered by POLFERRIES (3 daily crossings, time 6,5 hours) and by Unity Line (3 daily crossings/time 7,3 hours).
• Ferry connections Swinoujscie to Trelleborg Sweden are offered by TT-LINE (10 weekly crossings/time 6 hours) and by Unity Line (4 daily crossings).
• Ferry connections Swinoujscie to Ronne Denmark are offered by TT-LINE and POLFERRIES - both with 1 weekly crossing (time 5 hours).

Port Swinoujscie LNG terminal (aka Polskie LNG) was opened in December 2015. The facility has an unloading jetty (serving large-sized LNG carriers / "liquefied natural gas"), 3 large LNG storage tanks and a dedicated train. The terminal has an annual capacity of 7,5 billion m3 (260 billion ft3), which is enough to satisfy over 50% of Poland's gas demand. LNG Terminal's total cost was EUR 950 million.

In October 2018, Van Oord Dredging International (a subsidiary of the Belgium-based DEME Group) was awarded the contract for deepening (from max draft 10,5 to 12,5 m) and widening of the Swinoujscie-Szczecin Fairway (length 65 km / 40 mi) that provides access from Baltic Sea, to allow save navigation for larger vessel.

• The contract included also enforcements of the channel's slopes and quay walls, as well as cable relocation. For the project were employed 2000+ workers (~2,5 million manhours). For the non-dredging works were contracted Polish companies.
• Approx 24 million m3 of material was dredged by DEME’s Amazone (2012-built Cutter Suction Dredger/IMO 9546617), assisted by 9 other dredging vessels. The dredged material was used to create two artificial islands in the Szczecin Lagoon. One of the islands was established as an ecological habitat for marine and land wildlife, with 9000+ trees and bushes being planted and the Trzebiez Marina was built.
• The Fairway was scheduled for completion in 3,5 years (42 months, 2018-2022) and was budgeted EUR 313 million. The Swinoujscie-Szczecin Fairway was officially opened on May 9, 2022. The expanded Fairway improved access to Port Szczecin and also increased its cargo capacity.

In 2020, Swinoujscie's LNG terminal underwent a major development/capacity expansion, with plans to install a floating LNG storage unit in Gdansk Bay. The Polish energy company consortium of Grupa Lotos SA and Gaz-System SA announced plans to build a small-scale LNG terminal in Gdansk. The new facility is expected to increase the region's use of LNG as fuel for both ships and road vehicles.

To reduce its reliance on Russia's pipeline-delivered gas and also to reduce the country's coal dependence, Poland (via its largest gas company PGNiG / Gazownictwo SA) signed delivery deals with Qatargas (world's largest LNG company) and Cheniere Energy Inc (Houston TX-based, USA's first exporting LNG company). The fuel is shipped to Poland via Q-Flex LNG carriers (world's largest gas tankers) owned by Nakilat (Qatar Gas Transport Company Ltd). Nakilat has (planned) 31 such tankers, each with capacity 216,000 m3.

Swinoujscie cruise terminal