When speaking at the meeting on the development of certain sectors of Russia’s transport industry, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized the importance to speed up the implementation of long overdue construction projects and to take into account the real demand for transportation and objective traffic forecasts. According to experts asked by IAA PortNews, it’s high time to stop developing infrastructure under ‘cargoes available’ paradigm while investments in transport facilities are a key to economy recovery today.

According to information obtained by IAA PortNews, contractors representing the Big Four dredging companies (Van Oord, Boskalis, Jan de Nul, DEME) which account for over 98% of dredging works in Russian ports withdrew from Russia’s Arctic infrastructure projects in February 2022.

Amid the pressure of sanctions on exports of its energy, Russia is interested in redirection of oil exports to the countries of Asia and Africa. Major global oil suppliers can share those markets with Russia but it is necessary to accelerate implementation of the Vostok Oil project, build up Kozmino terminal capacity and proceed with domestic production of ship equipment.

RF Government has postponed for two years the deadline for implementation of investment projects on construction of fishing ships. According to Rosrybolovstvo (Russian Federal Fisheries Agency), 97 are under construction including 58 fishing ships and 39 crab catchers. USC accounts for 43% of those contracts. The fishing market players appreciate the recent measure of support while insisting on more assistance to companies which have a debt load of over RUB 450 billion.

Upon the order of Rosmorrechflot, Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping has completed assessment of the infrastructure project on ensuring year-round navigation on the Caspian-Azov route scheduled for implementation by 2030. Navigation season on Volga-Don waterways is 244 days on the average while shipping companies confirm the demand for its extension. Cargo traffic can thus be increased to 9 million tonnes per year.

The European Union imposed restrictions on Russian coal imports while Poland banned them completely. The capacity of eastwards railways limits the deliveries to the Far East ports hence the growth of coal shipments to the ports of the Southern Basin.

FSBI Marine Rescue Service is on the sanctions list of U.S. Department of the Treasury due to its involvement in construction of Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Apart from search and rescue of people in distress and response to oil spills at sea, the company ensures safety of Russia’s most offshore projects in the Okhotsk and Caspian seas and in the Arctic. In his interview with IAA PortNews, MRS head Victor Chernov tells about a balance between commercial revenues and public expenditure in view of new sanctions and delivery of hydraulic engineering facilities in 2022-2023.

In March 2022, container throughput of the Baltic Basin ports affected by the sanctions fell by 44% to 123,000 TEUs. The market players expect further plunging of container turnover to 95%. What is the future of container facilities the excess of which continues aggravating?

Dependence of Russian shipbuilding on imported components and equipment is different in various segments. The most dependent are the fishing and research segments, the least – cargo ships of mixed sea/river class. There are problems with engines, diesel generators and special equipment

As IAA PortNews is informed, RF Ministry of Finance will estimate the proposals of ad hoc ministries on zero-rated VAT for ship repair in Russia by the end of April. The initiative may both reduce the cost of repair in Russia and return Russian ships to domestic repair facilities while helping ship owners avoid problems caused by sanctions. However, experts note lack of ship repair facilities in Russia and emphasize the need of additional customs regulation.