On Wednesday Baltiysky Zavod shipyard launched diesel-electric icebreaker Saint Petersburg. However, the fate of the shipyard itself is still undetermined: management of the United Industrial Corporation (OPK) holds to its plans related to the shipyard though saying the company is to work as long as it has orders. Meanwhile, the other company of the OPK – Shipbuilding plant Severnaya Verf – is to get an order from Gazprom on production of vessels for shelf development. At the same time private shipyards count on close cooperation with the United Shipbuilding Corporation based on the principles of public-private partnership

National shipbuilding companies are to restructure production and to solve lots of legislation problems to improve their competitiveness. According to participants of the visiting session held by the Committee on industry, economy and property of St. Petersburg Legislation Assembly, the above issues are to be solved by OSK (United Shipbuilding Corporation). OSK has already started operation though legal implementation has not been finished yet

Russia’s bunkering market has been developing dynamically with annual growth rates exceeding 10%. Bunker suppliers, which actively provide vessels with fuel, encounter a number of problems related to quality control, ecological safety, cooperation with customs and other authorities. The above issues require joint discussion of all market participants to find optimal solutions and to form general opinion. In June, St. Petersburg will host All-Russian Forum “Current state and prospects for development of Russian bunker services market”. The review of the current bunkering market and the issues of the Forum were revealed to PortNews IAA by Vitaly Kovalev, President of Russian Association of Marine and River Bunker Suppliers

On Wednesday, RF Prime Minister Vladimir Putin dedicated his time to the issues of crude and oil products export. He participated in launching of the first complex of Sever project in Primorsk and then held a meeting in Ust-Luga dedicated to construction of PBS-2. At the meeting it was decided to make BPS-2 end point not in Primorsk but in Ust-Luga. The system will be used for transportation of both crude and oil products. Thus, the Leningrad region gets a strategic role as the main region to export Russian hydrocarbons though experts are still not sure there will be oil enough to load all the pipelines

The 6th Congress of International Harbour Masters’ Association takes place in St. Petersburg. It is the first time in the history of the organization consisting of 250 members from 43 countries when Russia hosts its congress. The event takes place at a time when the reforms of Russian ports’ management system nears completion and when the role of harbor masters grows according to the new Law on Seaports in the Russian Federation

Ceremonial launch of oil products pipeline Kstovo (Vtorovo)-Yaroslavl-Kirishi-Primorsk (“Sever” project) and Primorsk terminal will be held in the Leningrad region on May 14. It is expected that the new line for transportation of light oil products will make it possible to decrease the transportation costs. At the present time, a significant share of Russia’s export of light oil products is conducted through the Ventspils sea port. The lack of own export pipelines in Russia leads to annual losses of the budget in the amount of $200 million associated with the transit of oil products through the Baltic States

Being the first foreign society authorised to perform statutory duties on ships operating under Russian flag, Germanischer Lloyd (GL) becomes more and more present in Russia

Private investors commencing green-field projects encounter lots of problems related to legislation drawbacks and specific application. This subject was brought up by Alena Ashurkova, President of National Container Company (NCC) at the conference TransRussia-2008. According to NCC, the construction of a container terminal in Ust-Luga continues only due to cooperation of RZD (Russian Railways) specialists with state institutions at the level of executors in the absence of formal decisions. Such a situation cannot but makes investors feel concern

On Thursday the RF Government preliminarily approved the federal special-purpose program to develop the country's transportation network in 2010-2015. PortNews IAA provides the summary of a report made by RF Minister of Transport Igor Levitin

PortNews IAA provides the report made by Alexey Klyavin, Director of the Department for the State Policy of Sea and River Transport of the RF Ministry of Transport, at the conference ‘Russian International Register of Vessels: practice, problems and perspectives’. The report covers the issues of state policy focused on revival of Russian maritime fleet and on improvement of its competitiveness at the global market of maritime transport services