As one of the largest ferry ports in Sweden, located in the very south, Ystad is a natural gateway to the island of Bornholm, Poland, and the rest of the Baltic – as well as cruises.

Port operations consist mainly of daily ferry passenger transport to/from Rønne (island of Bornholm, Denmark) and Świnoujście (Poland). The port experiences a steady growth in number of travelers. Ystad is the third largest port in Sweden concerning ferry passengers with well over two million travelers passing through the port yearly. The connection Ystad-Rønne is provided by Bornholmslinjen ro-pax vessels and fast catamarans, the Ystad-Świnoujście route is operated by Unity Line and Polferries ro-pax and ro-ro vessels. Ystad is the fifth largest port in Sweden in terms of trucks and trailers as well as the total number of ship calls every year. The port is also serving conventional vessels, transporting coal, coke, grain, timber, and general cargo. The port provides trucks, loaders, and a mobile port crane with a lifting capacity of 40 tons. Apart from freight management, the port offers storage capacity for short and long periods including third party logistics through external partners.

Additionally, the city of Ystad is a part of the railway line Malmö-Simrishamn and is directly connected by rail to Copenhagen via the Öresund Bridge. In 2012 the port was awarded the Swedish Maritime Forum's environmental diploma for launching the world largest High Voltage Shore Connection for ferries. The shore-side supply installation is able to power six ships at the same time, both at 50 and 60 Hz frequencies and at 11,000 voltage.

Port of Ystad, as a result of the thriving increased volumes every year, now have expanded with two new high class ferry berths in the avant port, for service to meet the future demands regarding next generation of ferries up to 250 meters. As a result, already in 2021 ten cruise calls were conducted in the new berths, a good proof of the huge possibilities the port, and the Ystad surroundings, can offer.