Water transport in expectation of alternate routes

Inland water transport accounts for less than 4% of total cargo transportation in Russia while in Europe ecologically clean and cheap water transport has been transporting cargo for many years already.

Overall deficit

Experts say improvement of inland water transport’s role will require considerable redistribution of cargo flows. To attract cargo it is necessary to provide services the quality of which is to be at least the same as that of other types of transport while the tariffs are to be much lower. The advantages of water transport which meets current ecological requirements should be maximized. Directrailway-water transportation of cargo has considerablydecreased. River transport often fails to stand competition with railways (due to taxation differences apart from other reasons). However, today’s deficit of up-to-date handling complexes and abundance of outdated and inefficient handling equipment hamper the development of container transportation by waterways.

Container flows

At the same time container flows continue to grow in Europe with inland ports tending to play a more important role in their logistics. Experts say the share of container handling in inland ports is to increase by 40% by 2012-2015 against current 20%. Major flows of containerized cargo crossing Moscow come from the North-West region of Russia, mainly from St. Petersburg.

According to Nikolai Asaul, Head of St. Petersburg Committee for Transit Transport Policy, in 2007, container transportation between the largest German port HamburgSt. Petersburg  exceeded 800,000 TEU against 600,000 TEU in 2006. Meanwhile, container port of St. Petersburg is likely to loose Chinese cargo due to overflow, Mikhael Zhao, deputy head of Evrosib-Logistika representative office in Peking told at the 4th Chinese International Forum dedicated to the development of container and intermodal transportation. In January-July 2008, container throughput of the port increased by 19% to 1.1 mln TEU. A number of large logistic terminals are to be built in St. Petersburg though none of them is put into operation yet. Meanwhile Southern ports are being dynamically developed today. For example, container throughput of the port of Novorossiysk grew by 50%. It is quite reasonable for this alternate route to become more and more popular. Even today “transportation of Chinese cargo via Romanian port of Constanta to Ukrainian Iljichevsk and Russian Novorossiysk enjoys growing popularity,” Zhao said. and

Dmitrovski Port

Port-and-warehouse complex Dmitrovski Port is under construction some 60 kilometers from Moscow. It will ensure round-the-year handling and storing of containerized cargo delivered by different types of transport. From Dmitrovski Port cargo will be then transported to different companies of the Moscow region or to other river ports of Russia’s European part. This port complex will be able to unload federal highways and railways.

Major characteristics of the complex:

Length of moorage wall – 1300 m

Container ground for 2,000 containers;

Grounds for loose and large-size cargo;

Total storage area – 100,000 m2,

Including:

Dry warehouses – 73,000 м2;

Cross-docking terminal;

Average- and low-temperature warehouses – 27,000 м2.

Favorable location of the complex together with its focus on maintenance of stable links with the North-West region handling a considerable part of cargo imported by RussiaMoscow region in particular, provide realistic opportunities for arrangement of inland container lines. for

Port-and-warehouse complex Dmitrovski Port is a part of LITER logistics network being a project aimed at creation of a multimodal logistics net system which is to provide retail networks, distributors, production and construction companies with high-quality logistics services all around Russia’s European part.

Within the framework of LITER project a network of A-class logistics centers is to be developed in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhni Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don and Kaliningrad. The Baltic, Caspinan and Azov Seas are linked by a system of rivers and canals criss-crossing the territory occupied by over 45% of Russia’s population. It is especially interesting to develop alternate routes for delivery of goods to the Moscow region by Moscow canal which provides an access to both St. Petersburg and Nizhni Novgorod. Location of the port and warehouse center at Moscow canal could contribute to implementation of this ambitious conception.