As of September 2024, 3,739 ships have passed through the Polish shipping canal through the Vistula Spit, which connects the Baltic Sea with the Vistula Lagoon and allows ships to enter the port of Elbląg without passing through Russia's Kaliningrad region.
This was reported by the CFTS portal, citing the Polish publication Gospodarkamorska.
According to the publication, 1,589 vessels passed through the canal in 2023 and 1,683 passed through it from the beginning of 2024 to 19 September. However, some of these vessels are recreational vessels, such as yachts, boats, and jet skis.
In 2023, 61 merchant ships with cargo passed through the canal. This number decreased to 24 by 19 September 2024. The reason for the low number of commercial vessels is the limited depth of the approach channel to the Port of Elbląg, which currently restricts access for larger vessels.
The port is currently dredging the channel of the Vistula Bay and the Elbląg River. After completion of the dredging, ships up to 100 meters long and with a draft of up to 4.5 meters will be able to enter the Port of Elbląg.
In 2022-2023, 35 foreign-flagged vessels passed through the lock at the port of Nowy Swiat, compared with 73 as of 19 September 2024.
The largest number of vessels passing through the canal were under the German flag (28, compared with 14 in previous years). The number of vessels flying the flags of Norway (13 in 2024, compared with 4 in 2022-2023) and Finland (11) also increased.
The canal across the Vistula Spit was officially opened on 17 September 2022, the 83rd anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland.
A border crossing was opened on the canal in May 2022. "For the first time in the post-war history of our country, we can say that we have free access to the Vistula Lagoon and that we do not need the consent of our eastern neighbor," said Dariusz Drelich, the head of the Pomeranian Voivodeship.
