The Port to obtain boundaries
In autumn 2008, the RF Government will adopt a resolution confirming the boundaries of the Big Port of St. Petersburg earlier approved by the Ministry of Transport at a joint meeting between RosMorRechFlot and the Maritime Council attended by the RF Minister of Transport Igor Levitin. The port is to include Bronka cargo district, Lomonosov and a part of Kotlin island. The port activities are not to include Gorskaya station. More over, port activities of three stevedoring companies are to be ceased at Vasilyevsky island.
Territory rearrangement
On Friday, the joint meeting between RosMorRechFlot and the Maritime Council under St. Petersburg Government settled disputes on the territories of Bronka, Lomonsov, Gorskaya and Vasilyevsky island. “We are to draw a line under the issue of St. Petersburg port development,” Igor Levitin said. According to him, the draft regulations of the RF Government on the Limits of St. Petersburg Big Port are to be approved within three months.
The next day, Vice Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Ivanov, said at the visiting session of the Maritime Board that the issue on St. Petersburg port limits was to be solved by the end of the year.
As of today, Big Port of St. Petersburg the majority of which is located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland within the city limits, covers the territory of thousands of hectares. In 2007, the port’s throughput totaled 59.6 million tonnes. By 2015, its throughput is forecasted to reach 75-85 million tonnes, by 2025 - 125 million tonnes.
Big Port of St. Petersburg is a legally approved name given to a complex of port terminals located in the city. Besides the berths located within the city limits it includes facilities located outside urban built-up area but within administrative zone of St. Petersburg - Bronka, Lomonosov and Kronshtadt.
After two years of coordination the Government of St. Petersburg and the RF Ministry of Transport included marine cargo district located near railway station Bronka and at Kotlin island. Local authorities think the development of the port is not possible within the city center hence it is reasonable to locate port facilities in Bronka. At the same time, municipal government proposed that Gorskaya station and Vasilyevsky island be excluded from the port limits.
According to Administration of St. Petersburg Big Port, there are three stevedoring companies at Vasilyevsky island today including Terminal Service LLC (specializes in transshipment of foodstuffs and refrigerated cargo), ECO Phoenix Holding OJSC (bunkering and transshipment of oil products). Both companies operate at the territory of Baltiysky Zavod OJSC. Vasileostrovsky Cargo Terminal CJSC operating at Vasilyevsky island handles general cargo. Total throughput of all the three companies is 1 million tonnes of cargo per year. Before the decision on port limits is taken this autumn the authorities intend to reach an agreement with owners of terminals to be moved from Vasilyevsky island. According to Igor Levitin, it would be reasonable to use the above territory for yacht berths. Nikolai Asaul, Chairman of St. Petersburg Transit Transport Committee, told in his turn that the issue is under discussion with the companies and leaseholders of land plots not included into the port limits.
Downtime costs
In the North-West region of Russia only one port has obtained the approved boundaries – the port of Vysotsk handling LUKOIL oil products. The limits of other ports in the region are not approved by legislation and formally they are not allowed to handle import-export cargoes. However border check points operate under temporary permits, which hinders implementation of long-term development plans.
According to RosMorRechFlot, vessels have to wait at check points for three hours today. “One hour costs 0.04% of cargo value,” Igor Rusu, deputy head of RosMorRechFlot says. Russia’s annual downtime costs make some RUR 15 billion.”