Russian seaports handled 842 million tonnes of cargo in 2022, up 0.8% YoY
The capacity of Russia’s seaports grew by over 36.6 million tonnes
In 2022, throughput of the seaports in the Russian Federation rose by 0.8%, year-on-year, to 842 million tonnes, IAA PortNews cites Zakhary Djioyev, Head of the Federal Marine and River Transport Agency (Rosmorrechflot), as saying at the final meeting of the department board in Moscow.
According to Zakhary Djioyev, exports via the seaports rose by 1% to 667.6 million tonnes, imports fell by 10.4% to 36.2 million tonnes, short-sea traffic rose by almost 11% to 77.1 million tonnes, transit fell by 5.5% to 60.9 million tonnes. The share of Russian cargoes handled in the ports of the neighboring countries fell from 20.6% in 2007 to 2.3% in 2022. The volume of cargo carried by Russian-flagged ships operated by Russian companies rose by 17% (about 27 million tonnes). A total of 7.5 thousand ships operate under the flag of the Russian Federation including 1.6 thousand ships registered by RS. Their total deadweight is about 7.3 million tonnes.
The traffic on the Northern Sea Route slightly exceeded 34 million tonnes.
Oil handling in the seaports of Russia rose by 7.5% while handling of petroleum products decreased.
Handling of containers in the Baltic Sea Basin fell by 60%, in the Far East Basin – grew by 15%.
“In the second half of 2022, container turnover rose by 25% versus the first half, and we expect further increase in 2023,” said Zakhary Djioyev adding that the number of passengers carried by seaborne transport fell to 3.4 million.
According to Zakhary Djioyev, the capacity of Russia’s seaports was increased by over 36.6 million tonnes under the Comprehensive Plan for Modernization and Expansion of Core Infrastructure (CPMI). The plan for 2023 is to increase it by additional 59 million tonnes. Major investment projects of 2022: Taman terminal (25 million tonnes), coal terminal “Port Vera” (4.5 million tonnes), Phase 1 of LNG terminal in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (5.4 million tonnes), LNG terminal “CS Portovaya” (1.6 million tonnes). The plan for 2023 foresees the commissioning of “Lavna” terminal in the Murmansk Region and the multifunctional cargo complex in the port of Poronaysk. According to the head of Rosmorrechflot, both projects are being implemented under the concession agreements. One more concession agreement, on construction of a multipurpose handling facility in the port of Novorossiysk, is to be signed in 2023. The Agency is currently working under four agreements of that kind.
The scope of dredging planned for 2023 is 23 million cbm. Over a half of that volume (12 million cbm) will be dredged on Volga-Caspian Canal. Its depth is to be increased to 4.5 meters. For that purpose, the fleet involved in the dredging works on Volga-Caspian Canal will be increased to 18-19 dredging convoys. Rosmorport also involves private contractors.
