Port of Varna
Encyclopedia
Port of Varna is the largest seaport complex in Bulgaria
. Located on the Black Sea
's west coast on Varna
Bay, along Lake Varna
and Lake Beloslav, it also comprises the outlying port of Balchik
. It has a significant further development potential with 44 km (27 mi) of sheltered inland waterfront on the lakes alone, easily accessible by road and railroad and adjacent to Varna International Airport.
26 nautical miles (48.2 km) east-northeast of Varna.
Two inland canals connect the sea and Port of Varna East with Lake Varna, Lake Beloslav and Port of Varna West: Channel 1 with draft 11.5 m and Channel 2 with draft 11.0 m. The canals form an island, on which a deepwater oil terminal, among other port facilities, is currently located. The depths of the ship berth
s and the approaches allow the handling of vessels of capacity up to 50,000 gross tonnes. In view of the stated safe canal depths, only vessels of draft less than 9.9 m (32½ ft) and airdraft up to 46 m (146 ft) are allowed to Varna West. Vessels with load over 200 m, beam over 26 m, or over 20,000 gross tonnes are required to pass the channels during daylight hours only. The largest vessel handled (as of 2006) is the Norwegian Dream
cruise ship (220 m in length, 50,700 gross tonnes).
Port of Varna offers full service: loading
, discharging, stevedoring, forwarding
, storage
and various intermodal
services. For its approximately 40 berths, it operates 65 electric cranes and about 400 other pieces of ship, landside and warehouse port facilities. The port open-air storage area is 454,000 m2 (4,890,000 ft2) and the warehouses 76,000 m2 (820,000 ft2). It has a well-forked railway and road network. The existing port facilities allow the handling of practically all kinds of solid bulk, break-bulk, containerized and some liquid-bulk cargoes.
Principal exports include urea, soda ash, cement, clinker, silica, fertilisers, grain, containers and ro-ro.
Principal imports are coal, metals, ores and ore concentrates, oil, phosphates, timber, molasses, containers and ro-ro.
Since 2006, Port of Varna serves as a hub for BP
and German wind turbine
manufacturer Saga.
In 2008, the port posted a 57% growth in overall tonnage handled, and at times in late summer it was stretched beyond capacity, due to redirected cargo from striking ports in the region and the year's record export of wheat from northeastern Bulgaria.
bridge, a grain terminal on the north shore of Lake Varna south of the Dry Port storage base, a liquid chemicals terminal and a cement and clinker terminal at Varna West, and modernization of the passenger and ro-ro terminals at Varna East.
In 2007, new plans were disclosed to relocate the container terminal from Varna East to a new larger basin on the northeastern shore of Lake Varna and to redevelop old port Varna East, located in the city centre, into a large marine attractions zone with a new cruise terminal, yacht marina, apartments, hotels, restaurants, museums, exhibitions, shopping, and other tourist facilities.
In 2008, plans were disclosed for another deepwater container terminal on the south side of the island for vessels carrying over 2500 twenty-foot equivalent unit
s (TEU).
A liquified petroleum gas terminal is also being developed at Beloslav
. Amidst the gas crisis of early 2009, discussions started of a new liquified natural gas terminal on 30 hectares (74.1 acre), possibly on the northwestern shore of Lake Varna at Ezerovo.
Also in 2008, discussions were resumed (suspended since the 1970s) of a 192-kilometre navigable canal Rousse
–Varna connecting the lower Danube
with the Varna lakes and the Black Sea.
Other existing port terminals include the Cruise Terminal; Petrol, LesPort, and Varna Thermal Power Plant (handling oil, timber, and coal respectively); the Railroad Ferry Terminal, which is not part of the complex, is located on the south shore of Lake Beloslav opposite Varna West.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. Located on the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
's west coast on Varna
Varna
Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
Bay, along Lake Varna
Lake Varna
Lake Varna is the largest by volume and deepest liman or lake along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, divided from the sea by a 2 km-wide strip of sand and having an area of 17 km², maximal depth 19 m, and a volume of 166 million m³....
and Lake Beloslav, it also comprises the outlying port of Balchik
Balchik
Balchik is a Black Sea coastal town and seaside resort in the Southern Dobruja area of northeastern Bulgaria. It is located in Dobrich Oblast and is 42 km northeast of Varna...
. It has a significant further development potential with 44 km (27 mi) of sheltered inland waterfront on the lakes alone, easily accessible by road and railroad and adjacent to Varna International Airport.
Overview
There are two anchorages at Varna roadstead: summer and winter. If violent northeasterly wind and wave conditions make the anchorages hazardous, a foul weather anchorage is available west of the 70 m (230 ft) high Cape KaliakraKaliakra
Kaliakra is a long and narrow headland in the Southern Dobruja region of the northern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, located 12 km east of Kavarna and 60 km northeast of Varna. The coast is steep with vertical cliffs reaching 70 m down to the sea....
26 nautical miles (48.2 km) east-northeast of Varna.
Two inland canals connect the sea and Port of Varna East with Lake Varna, Lake Beloslav and Port of Varna West: Channel 1 with draft 11.5 m and Channel 2 with draft 11.0 m. The canals form an island, on which a deepwater oil terminal, among other port facilities, is currently located. The depths of the ship berth
Berth (moorings)
A berth is a location in a port or harbour used specifically for mooring vessels while not at sea.-Locations in a port:Berth is the term used in ports and harbors to define a specific location where a vessel may be berthed, usually for the purposes of loading and unloading.Most berths will be...
s and the approaches allow the handling of vessels of capacity up to 50,000 gross tonnes. In view of the stated safe canal depths, only vessels of draft less than 9.9 m (32½ ft) and airdraft up to 46 m (146 ft) are allowed to Varna West. Vessels with load over 200 m, beam over 26 m, or over 20,000 gross tonnes are required to pass the channels during daylight hours only. The largest vessel handled (as of 2006) is the Norwegian Dream
Norwegian Dream
MS Norwegian Dream is a cruise ship owned by Star Cruises. She was built in 1992 by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire, France as MS Dreamward for traffic with Norwegian Cruise Line...
cruise ship (220 m in length, 50,700 gross tonnes).
Port of Varna offers full service: loading
Loading
In electrical transmission lines, the term loading means the insertion of impedance into a circuit to change the characteristics of the circuit....
, discharging, stevedoring, forwarding
Forwarding
Forwarding is the relaying of packets from one network segment to another by nodes in a computer network. The simplest forwarding model — unicasting — involves a packet being relayed from link to link along a chain leading from the packet's source to its destination. However, other forwarding...
, storage
Intermodal container
An intermodal container is a standardized reusable steel box used for the safe, efficient and secure storage and movement of materials and products within a global containerized intermodal freight transport system...
and various intermodal
Intermodal freight transport
Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation , without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The method reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damages and...
services. For its approximately 40 berths, it operates 65 electric cranes and about 400 other pieces of ship, landside and warehouse port facilities. The port open-air storage area is 454,000 m2 (4,890,000 ft2) and the warehouses 76,000 m2 (820,000 ft2). It has a well-forked railway and road network. The existing port facilities allow the handling of practically all kinds of solid bulk, break-bulk, containerized and some liquid-bulk cargoes.
Principal exports include urea, soda ash, cement, clinker, silica, fertilisers, grain, containers and ro-ro.
Principal imports are coal, metals, ores and ore concentrates, oil, phosphates, timber, molasses, containers and ro-ro.
Since 2006, Port of Varna serves as a hub for BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
and German wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
manufacturer Saga.
In 2008, the port posted a 57% growth in overall tonnage handled, and at times in late summer it was stretched beyond capacity, due to redirected cargo from striking ports in the region and the year's record export of wheat from northeastern Bulgaria.
Future plans
The updated general plan for the Port of Varna to 2020 was approved in 1999. Major projects for new construction, reconstruction and modernization include: a deepwater container terminal and a ro-ro terminal on the island under the Asparuhov mostAsparuhov most
The Asparuhov most or Asparuhov Bridge is a bridge in Varna on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, connecting the Asparuhovo quarter to the rest of the city over the canals between the Black Sea and Lake Varna....
bridge, a grain terminal on the north shore of Lake Varna south of the Dry Port storage base, a liquid chemicals terminal and a cement and clinker terminal at Varna West, and modernization of the passenger and ro-ro terminals at Varna East.
In 2007, new plans were disclosed to relocate the container terminal from Varna East to a new larger basin on the northeastern shore of Lake Varna and to redevelop old port Varna East, located in the city centre, into a large marine attractions zone with a new cruise terminal, yacht marina, apartments, hotels, restaurants, museums, exhibitions, shopping, and other tourist facilities.
In 2008, plans were disclosed for another deepwater container terminal on the south side of the island for vessels carrying over 2500 twenty-foot equivalent unit
Twenty-foot equivalent unit
The twenty-foot equivalent unit is an inexact unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of container ships and container terminals...
s (TEU).
A liquified petroleum gas terminal is also being developed at Beloslav
Beloslav
Beloslav is a small industrial town in Varna Province, Northeastern Bulgaria, located 19 km away to the west from Varna downtown and Bulgarian Black Sea coast. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Beloslav Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 7,937...
. Amidst the gas crisis of early 2009, discussions started of a new liquified natural gas terminal on 30 hectares (74.1 acre), possibly on the northwestern shore of Lake Varna at Ezerovo.
Also in 2008, discussions were resumed (suspended since the 1970s) of a 192-kilometre navigable canal Rousse
Rousse
Ruse is the fifth-largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is situated in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, from the capital Sofia and from the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast...
–Varna connecting the lower Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
with the Varna lakes and the Black Sea.
Other existing port terminals include the Cruise Terminal; Petrol, LesPort, and Varna Thermal Power Plant (handling oil, timber, and coal respectively); the Railroad Ferry Terminal, which is not part of the complex, is located on the south shore of Lake Beloslav opposite Varna West.
External links
- http://www.port-varna.bg/ - Port of Varna, Пристанище Варна
- http://lifeseafarers.org/ - LIFE International Seafarers Centres-Varna
- Panorama photos of the Port of Varna Cruise Terminal, Port of Varna Yacht Club and the quay - Format: Apple QTVR