New terminal ups Kiel handling clout

The €30m Schwedenkai, Kiel’s third major passenger handling facility, was financed with the support of the Schleswig-Holstein state government and is one of the most modern cruise and RoPax terminals on the Baltic. It was designed specifically to host Stena Line’s giant 4,000 lane/m, 1,000 passenger ferries Stena Germanica (ex Stena Britannica) and Stena Scandinavica (ex Stena Hollandica) on the Kiel-Gothenburg route.

The project, begun in 2008, includes a new terminal building, extended operational areas, a revamped intermodal rail terminal and ro-ro handling.

Dominating the city centre facility is the new 13 storey, glass facaded terminal building designed by KSP Engel und Zimmermann and built by a consortium grouping Friedrich Helbig, Heinrich Karstens and others. Well over 7,000 cu/m of concrete and 1,000 tons of steel were utilized. Officials praised the structure’s innovative ‘concrete core activation’ which they said had created a pleasant climate and reduced energy use.

Built south of the existing complex, the new terminal is 46m high with 12,000 sq/m of space. It houses passenger and freight handling facilities on the lower levels and leased offices, public access areas and restaurants on the upper levels. Among these are the offices of Stena Line and the Port of Kiel.

Port MD Dirk Claus described it as a ‘forward looking and, for Kiel, unique utilisation combination.’

The Stena ferries will berth at Schwedenkai-Süd, the former Bollhörnkai-Nord, where quay fenders and bollards have been renovated. They will use a new ro-ro facility built by Helbig and Karstens and a Polish built ro-ro ramp from Sweden’s TTS Port Equipment. Parallel to the quay is a 170m long passenger walkway linked to ships by a fully glazed gangway wth Spanish built movable segments. That facilityalone cost about €4.5m.

By Tom Todd