Reports on operation of Russian ports and cargo handling have recently settled among the most important news of the business industry. Sea terminals bring a significant share of income to coastal regions. No wonder that privatization of the two ports - Novorossiysk and Makhachkala – have excited the public so much. Although some authorities call on to release stevedores from excessive state regulation, others, namely the Federal Antimonopoly Service, resist this in every possible way, and the reasons for this are not entirely unclear to the market.