Aleksei Shukletsov, Executive Director of Fenix LLC: “Bronka will turn Saint-Petersburg into an ocean port”
Competition for containers as high paying freight becomes more intense in the Baltic Sea area. In his interview with IAA PortNews, Executive Director of Fenix LLC Aleksei Shukletsov shares his vision of how to ensure attractiveness of Russian ports amid boosting boxship tonnage.
- Mr. Shukletsov, what is your general projection of Russian container terminals in the Baltic Sea Basin?
- Saint-Petersburg is the main sea gate of Russia due to its geographical location and closeness to the hub ports of Europe. Russian ports of the Baltic Sea handle some 54% of Russian market containers with the port of Saint-Petersburg accounting for 45% of this volume.
Container shipping is the key technology for transportation of industrial products (general cargo) today. Implementation of the imports substitution policy set forth by RF Government and consequent industrial-production growth expected in Russia will require a prompt return of the country to the global markets and therefore give rise to further development of container shipping market in Russia.
- You emphasize the significance of the City on the Neva as the key sea gate of Russia. How, in your opinion, the competitiveness of Big Port St. Petersburg can be enhanced when it comes to transshipment of containerized cargo here and in foreign ports of the Baltics?
- The global trend in favour of larger vessels for cargo shipping determines the necessity to build deepwater ports with state-of-the-art facilities ensuring their competitiveness.
Amid the current situation, construction of deepwater ports is a strategic measure to preserve competitive positions of Russian ports in the Baltic Sea and to ensure transport and economic security of the country.
Our Baltic neighbors (ports of Gdansk, Riga, Tallinn) have already performed dredging operations to deepen up to 16 meters and they are prepared to update their fight for Russian cargoes.
Therefore, the construction of a deepwater port in Saint-Petersburg able to handle container ships of maximum sizes for the Baltic Sea is the need of the moment.
According to the dredging companies’ plans, Bronka, outer port of Saint-Petersburg, will have the depth of 11.2 meters by September 2015 and 14.4 meters by the end of the year. In the longer term, it will be probably deepened to 16 meters. So, Bronka, as a deepwater port of Saint-Petersburg, will allow for delivery of cargoes without transshipment in European hub ports thus reducing travel time and transportation costs.
- What are the advantages of Bronka as it is?
- Geographical location of Bronka complex ensures reduction of call time by 3 hours for each ship entering the port while the direct links with the network of federal highways and Russian Railways decreases costs of Russian consignees and shippers.
Besides, it should be specially noted that the port has an ideal location when it comes to the existing and newly created industrial areas and efficient manufactures of Saint-Petersburg. It also correlates with the town planning programme of Saint-Petersburg. According to it, the territory adjacent to MMPK Bronka will see the development in the part of business areas and industry logistics infrastructure. It is an absolutely logical decision considering the location of the new port complex in close vicinity to the ring road.
Maximum remoteness of MMPK Bronka from the residential area excludes the impact of port activities on living environment. Moreover, it provides a solution of a crucial task – port to port transportation of freight escapes streets and roads of the city.
- What distinguishes the concept of MMPK Bronka from the existing terminals at Big Port St. Petersburg?
- Historically, the terminals of Big Port St. Petersburg do not feature sufficient depth (-11.2 m) or technical availability for handling of large capacity boxships. The historic part of the port can handle vessels with maximum capacity of 3,000 TEUs.
MMPK Bronka suggests a new concept of a deepwater port focused on handling Post Panamax ships with the capacity of up to 8,100 TEUs. It is a kind of a technological breakthrough ensuring efficiency of terminal operations due to handling of larger vessels, application of new technological equipment and IT innovations.
Above all, deepwater port Bronka makes the port of Saint-Petersburg a terminus for imports and a start point for exports, thus turning it into an ocean port. In the result, Russian consignees and shippers will enjoy reduced transport costs and, consequently, higher competitiveness in the domestic and global markets.
Information from IAA PortNews
MMPK Bronka will consist of a container terminal with annual capacity of 1.9 mln TEUs and a Rо-Rо terminal able to handle 260,000 units per year. Its territory will cover 164 hectares with the total waterfront length of 1,930 meters.
MMPK Bronka project is being implemented through private-public partnership. FSUE Rosmorport is in charge of building of federal property facilities including the approach canal, the water area and the aids to navigation. The degree of completion is 60% for the canal (design depth of 14.4 m) and 45% for the water area. The scope of dredging remaining for 2015 is 13.8 mln cbm of material.
Private investor Fenix LLC is responsible for construction of shore infrastructure facilities: berths, territories, engineering and general port facilities. The degree of the territory completion is 100%, 6 berths of Phase 1 - 100%, coast protection – 100%, land infrastructure - 60%, railway approaches – 30%.
MMPK Bronka complies with the priority targets and course of development of the Russian Federation. It is to become operational from September 2015.
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