Rosvodresursy is to arrange force majeure for river transport companies
Federal Agency of Water Recourses under RF Ministry of Natural Recourses (Rosvodresursy) is to decrease from August 21 water spillover at Nizhegorodskaya HPS from 1170 to 1000 m3/sec. That will result in lowering of water level at Volga-river in the area of Nizhny Novgorod and Gorodetskyi hydro-system. So, maximum permissible draft for river vessels in these areas will be 280cm. against today’s three meters. That will lead to a situation when part of passenger ships will not be able to pass Nizhny Novgorod and the cargo fleet will have to be half under-loaded.
The depth to be dictated by HPS
“Water level at the section from Nizhegorodskaya HPS to Nizhny Novgorod depends on HPS water flow rate and, consequently, navigation depth at the section depends on water spillover,” explained Leonid Larin, deputy head of Volga SBA to PortNews IAA. HPS water flow rate is specified by the Federal Agency of Water Recourses. The flow rates were usually set by the Agency for a month or more while from august of this year it is planned to reset HPS water flow rate every decade.
Today the depth of Volga-river in the sector of Gorodetskyi hydro-system is maintained at the level from 360 to 325 cm every day for 3 hours (in the afternoon when the majority of vessels pass the sector), the rest of the day the depth is 240 cm. However starting from the third decade of August the situation is going to change sharply that will entail negative impact on navigation.
“On August 4, Rosvodresursy issued the letter according to which average water spillover from August 21 shall be set at the level of 1000 m3/sec. That figure is too low. Such a level corresponds to maximum depth of just 305 cm for 3 hours. That means the vessels with maximum draft of 280 cm can only pass there,” Larin told to PortNews IAA. So, as he said, 4-deck passenger ships will not be able to pass Gorodetskyi hydro-system. “Cargo vessels will be under-loaded by about 45% since normal draft of a loaded 4.5 thou tons vessel of «VolgoDon» or «Volgoneft» type is 350 cm”, he added.
Watershed
It has become obvious now that Volga in the sector Nizhnyi Novgorod is divided into two parts — upstream and downstream of Nizhegorodskaya HPS. The level of water is not enough for cargo vessels hence the fleet is under-loaded. According to Volga SBA, it takes 3-5 days to go from Nizhnyi Novgorod to Gorodets, while shipowners sometimes say that it may sometimes take even 10 days. RF Ministry of Transport does not deny the existence of the problem but it does not help to solve the issue. “There are many difficult places within internal water ways. It is necessary to reconstruct the sluices since they have been built a long time ago. In the Nizhnyi Novgorod district there is a long sector which fails to provide sufficient depth of Volga”, says Alexander Davydenko, head of Federal Agency of sea and river transport under RF Transport Ministry, to the correspondent of PortNews IAA.
The members of the river transportation market are surprised to know about the above decision as regards the decrease of water spillover. They suspect it was lobbied by energy sector. “The decrease of water spill over has no reasons,” Nickolai Smirnov, chairman of Russian ship-owners’ Association. “Water content of Rybinskoye water reservoir feeding Rybinskoye water reservoir is not significantly different from that of the previous years. So I can’t understand why Rosvodresursy take a decision killing Volga shipping. I think RF Ministry of Natural Recourses will not allow to adopt such a decision”, Smirnov says.
Rosvodresursy think that preliminary decision of interdepartmental operative group on adjusting of work schedules for water reservoirs of Volga-Kama cascade related to the decrease of water overspill will be signed by the Agency’s head and will become an official document within some days. Veniamin Fedunov, head of interdepartmental operative group under RF Ministry of Natural Recourses, told PortNews IAA: “Today water levels of Volga are enough for navigation. The decision coming into force from August 21 will, without any doubt, influence navigation, but will not be the critical one, I hope.” He also explained that Volga is shallow-watered this year and the recent rains have not changed the situation considerably. “So we have to decrease water spillover”, Fedunov said.
Energy sector is to win
However the shippers are willing to dispute with the Ministry of Natural Recourses and to provide the evidence of absurdity of such a decision. Petr Razumov, president of Tankernyi Soyuz OC and director general of Vision Fleet shipping company (one of largest shippers of oil products within international water ways of RG) said that last 10 year statistics demonstrates that this year under lower levers of water in Rybinskoye water reservoir the level of Gorodetskyi hydro-system was maintained at a more-or-less good level. “This year Federal Agency of Water Recourses, as I understand, tries to support interests of energy sector and wants to decrease the flow of large-capacity vessels along Russia’s deep-water system”, Razumov noted. He also underlined that in case Federal Agency of Water Recourses implements its plans on the decrease of water spillover, Gorodetskyi hydro-system will decrease its throughput by factor of about 2. That will entail severe problems both for passenger fleet cruising along Volga and for cargo fleet having export contract with the largest Russian companies. “We have become used to the situation where shipping interests of Russia are not important for anybody in our country but this situation will have a negative economic impact on large oil companies and manufacturers of mineral fertilizers”, he added.
Ship owners are counting losses
Vision Fleet LLC has finalized preliminary calculation of the company’s losses related to the decrease of water level in Volga. Considering only the decrease of draft of large-capacity vessels from 3 meters to 2.8 meters will cause direct losses amounting to 3 million rubles per month. Besides, as the Vision Fleet's reference says, volume of heavy fuel oil exported from Samara within the framework of Rosneft OC program will decrease to 10 000 tons per month. The decrease of permissible draft of vessels will result in forced demurrage of the rest of the shipper’s fleet waiting for sluices to be open. That will entail the loss of 2 million rubles more. “The decrease of transportation volume at along Samara-Yaroslavl-Saint Petersburg route will result in forced demurrage of Volgoneft vessels waiting for cargo”. One day of demurrage for vessels of Volgoneft type costs 150 000 rubles”, the specialists think. “So total losses of Vision Fleet LLC under new situation at Gorkovskaya HES will amount to 8 750 000 rubles per month”.
Cargo owners may not disregard the problems of shipping sector. They try to find alternative ways for cargo transportation, railway, for example. That may cause the decrease of vessel flow in 2006 by 25-30%, as Larin thinks. “In June 2005 1420 vessels passed Nizhnyi Novgorod (both directions), while in June 2006 that figure will be 970”, said deputy head of Volga SBA. The results of the previous year showed that 9674 vessels passed the lock of Gorodetskyi hydro-system (both directions). Cargo turnover amounted to 9945.82 thou tons.
It is necessary to note that the decrease of vessel flow in 2006 was caused not only by the decrease of water level but also by absence of Volgotanker OJSC, the largest river carrier. As it is known the company’s fleet was arrested as a security of tax authorities’ claims.
From all directions
Gorodetskyi hydro-system has a lot of problems. Owing to repair works at Volga bridge, Valety Shantsev, governor of Nizhnyi Novgorod, decided to prolong the use of pontoon bridge for motor cars that will decrease the capacity of river. Besides, Volga SBA approved new schedule of the pontoon bridge operation, which makes shipping even more difficult. Thus, the decision of regional authorities may close strategically important federal waterway. However, there are other alternatives enabling the increase of motor cars crossing the river, Razumov said. There is a ferry crossing in the region that has recently started its operation: Bor - Nizhnyi Novgorod, but it is under-loaded owing to high cost of transportation. Tanker union drew attention of Rosmorrechflot to that aspect having sent a letter to its head, Alexander Davydenko.
“We are surprised to see such a weak position of the Federal Agensy of sea and river transport», Razumov says. “At the meeting of the Sea Board of RF Government held in November, 2005, Michail Fradkov, Prime-Minister of RF set a task to solve the issue of Gorodetskyi hydro-system as soon as possible but no measures can still be seen as regards the this problem. On the contrary, there are administrative actions that make the problem even worse here”. Talking to a correspondent of PortNews IAA Razumov reminded that the only way to ensure normal shipping situation in the region is the construction of a new low-head dam in Gorodets.
According to the information of PortNews IAA, Ministry of Transport commissioned Transmost, Saint Petersburg institute, in 2003 to carry out feasibility study for this project. Estimated value of works (construction of a low-head hydro-system, bridge, highway and HPS) is 35.6 milliard rubles (as per prices of quarter IV of 2004). If the project does not include HPS construction the value should be 24.6 milliard rubles.