The version for the print

  • 2008 February 13

    Archangelsk export growth

    The majority of seaports in the North-Western Basin increased their turnover in 2007. Throughput of Big Port of St. Petersburg climbed by 10%, Kaliningrad – by 3.1%. The ports of Vyborg and Vysotsk increased their results by almost one third. However, the port of Murmansk decreased its cargo turnover by 5%, while the results of Archangelsk port did not change a lot (-0.6%).

     

    Export directions

    In 2007, the port of Archangelsk handled 5.2 million tonnes of cargo including 457,500 tones of incoming cargo (+10.5%) and 4.786.4 million tonnes of outgoing cargo (-1.6%). In 2007, export continued to prevail over import – 1.555.5 million tonnes against 287,100 tonnes respectively. The tendency did not change in January: 147,379 tonnes of import cargo against 15,411 tonnes of import. In the first month of the current year transshipment of import cargo grew by 15.8%, year-on-year, while export grew over four-fold.

    The port of Archangelsk traditionally handles transit of export coal, scrap metal, cardboard, paper, timber and oil products. Transshipment of all the above goods (excluding oil products) fell in 2007, but was recovered in January 2008. Transshipment of export coal fell by 75.6% 40,200 tonnes), coastal trade coal – by 8.2% (37,060 tonnes). Transshipment of exported scrap metal fell by 34.2% to 139,900 tonnes, while transshipment of coastal trade scrap metal decreased by 28.9% to 4,100 tonnes.

    Archangelsk Sea Commercial Port (AMTP OJSC) accounts for the one third of all cargo handled in the port. In 2007, the company’s cargo handling was similar to that of 2006 – 1.4 million tonnes. The company attributes such a dynamics to a decrease of timber export. This type of cargo left for the railway, though the loss was partly compensated by import of large-format sheet steel (200,000 tonnes). In January, the company’s cargo turnover grew by over 60% to 109,400 tonnes of different cargo. As PortNews IAA was told at the company, it should be attributed to expansion of export coal transit. This year the company plans to raise transportation of coastal trade cargo on Arctic direction. The volume of cargo to be transported within the framework of Arctic direction is to make some 600,000 tonnes (almost half of the turnover). Basic volume of cargo handling was earlier secured mainly by Norilsk Nickel. However, in late 2007, AMTP entered into an agreement with Gazprom, the cooperation with which is to determine the company’s development in the nearest future. Commercial Director of Archangelsk Sea Commercial Port Viktor Vorobjov noted in one of his interviews that Arctic is a guaranteed cargo base with guaranteed volumes. According to him, cargo supply to polar regions may become a priority for the port and force export timber out of the top list. Besides, the port plans to handle the same volume of large-format sheet steel this year.

    In 2007, transshipment of timber fell by 10.2% to 576,800 tonnes, cellulose – by 20.5% to 98,760 tonnes.

     

    Past the port?

    In 2007, import of containerized cargo grew by 23% to 57,584 toones, export – by 39% to 60,900 tonnes. As for coastal trade containerized cargo, the port accepted 3,873 tonnes and dispatched 76,860 tonnes (-54% and -9%, respectively). The same tendency is typical for January 2008: export of containerized cargo increased 7.7 times to 4,180 tonnes, import – by 49% to 3,100 tonnes. The volume of dispatched coastal trade containerized cargo fell 11 times to 0,800 tonnes.

    Despite the increase of export and import of containers experts do not think a regular container flow is likely to be established in the port. “The volume of container handling in Archangelsk is not very significant, so its high growth is not so important,” Sergei Semenov, Development director of St. Petersburg-based scientific and production company Marine Construction and Technologies thinks.

    Geographical location of Archangelsk is not as advantageous as that of St. Petersburg. The port is outside container transit routes and is less profitable for cargo owners as compared with the Baltic ports. Besides, unfavorable ice conditions hamper operation of container carriers. Semenov attributes the increase of container turnover to possible increase in transportation of timber and sawn timber in containers. “Besides, the capacity of the Baltic ports are exhausted today and part of their cargo, probably, transfers to Archangelsk,” he says.

     

    Oil products back to leading positions

    Transshipment of oil products in the port of Archangelsk grew in almost all the sectors in 2007. Only incoming coastal trade cargo demonstrated a slight decrease (-1.8% to 8,800 tonnes). In the sector of outgoing coastal trade cargo oil cargo accounted for 256,000 tonnes. It is oil delivered by Rosneft in small shuttle tankers to the Belokamenka terminal in the Kola Bay. Export of oil products grew 6.5 times 616,100 tonnes. Rosneft Archangelsknefteproduct OJSC, 75.42% of which is held by Rosneft, exports mainly diesel fuel and gas condensate by railway and then via the port of Archangelsk mainly to the port of Rotterdam. In 2006, reconstruction of the discharge track lasting for 8 months resulted in a considerable decrease of oil export. However, having resumed the terminal’s operation in late 2006, the port managed to handle large volumes of oil again.
 All relevant topics...