A million of Navigator
During last navigation period tanker company Navigator accounted for some 30% of oil products carried by inland waterways of the Russian Federation towards the ports of the southern basin. The company plans not to decrease the volume of traffic and to carry 1- 1.2 million tonnes of cargo during the coming season.
It’s better not to ask shipping companies specializing in export of oil products from Russian refineries towards estuary harbors about the plans related to the coming navigation in March and April as it is the height of the contract period. It is obvious that traffic volumes can only be forecasted until major contracts are signed. However, Vyacheslav Igonin, Director General of tanker shipping company Navigator, has told PortNews IAA about its plans not to cut but even to increase the volume of oil products transportation.
“Our fleet of advanced technology level enables us to cooperate with the best oil companies which impose special requirements to shipping companies,” Vyacheslav Igonin told the agency. As Igor Monin, deputy Director General of the company, said at the enlarged meeting of Russia’s Federal Agency of Marine and River Transport held on February 26, 2009, in Moscow, the fleet of Navigator LLC comprises 17 oil vessels with the capacity of about 5,000 tonnes each. 9 of themwere built in 2003-2005. The company is sure, this year it will be able to transport heavy fuel oil and gas oil destined for export from Volga refineries to Kerch and Kavkaz ports. “Some 60% of our traffic conventionally falls on heavy fuel oil and about 40% - on gas oil,” Vyacheslav Igonin said.
Vyacheslav Igonin thinks it is possible to increase the traffic of oil products through higher turnover of oil vessels at Volga and Volga-Don canal and fast formalities for vessels leaving for sea area. As significant factor for navigation is weather conditions, which are difficult to forecast today. At the same time, the expected decrease in transportation of other cargoes by RF inland waterways is likely to result in lower traffic at IWW which in its turn is to allow tankers to seed up passing of the route’s narrow sections.
Proposals expressed at the RorMorRechFlot meeting by the tanker company Palmali and State Duma deputy Feodor Shvalev on extension of the navigation period for certain categories of sea-and-river going vessels are approved by Navigator as the company considers this measure (if it is undertaken) to be a real state support during a crisis period. “If we are allowed to extend the navigation period by at least a month (the navigation period usually lasts from late April till late October – PortNews IAA) we will be able to earn extra money that are enough to pay for internavigation repair of our vessels,” Vyacheslav Igonin commented.
He does not rule out a possibility to resume transportation to St. Petersburg port in 2009 provided that the traffic of oil products goes up in this port as experts forecast.