69th navigation season opened in Volga-Don Basin of inland water ways
On 26 March 2020, Volgograd hydrosystem hosted the ceremonial opening of the 69th navigation season of the Volga-Don Basin. According to Federal Marine and River Transport Agency (Rosmorrechflot), the first ships to pass the Lock No 30 were M/V Kapitan Krasnov and M/V Volgo-Don177 of Volga Shipping Company.
In the southern part of the Volga-Don Basin navigation is open from March 24. The first ships to pass the Konstantinovsky Lock were the Electra, Entselad and Maya tankers of Prime Shipping.
To ensure successful navigation, routine repair and reconstruction of facilities in the Volga-Don Basin had been performed, says the statement.
Volga-Don Administration runs 2,187.5 km of waterways in the Volgograd, Rostov, Voronezh and Lipetsk Regions as well as in the Krasnodar Territory and the Republic of Adygeya. Included is the 101-kilometer long Volga-Don Canal with its 96 hydraulic engineering structures, 13 locks, 3 pumpstations, 17 dams and 2 emergency repair barriers.
The company operates a total of 132 hydraulic engineering structures, 108 units of technical fleet and over 80 power and communication facilities.
In 2019, the navigation period in the basin lasted for 259 days. A total of 10,492 ships carried 14.479 million tonnes of cargo including 8.663 tonnes of cargo carried along the Volga-Don Canal by 5,268 ships. The number of locking operations totaled 85,857.
The waters of the basin are annually used by about 200 companies including Volga Shipping Company, North-Western Shipping Company, Navigator, Prime Shipping etc.
