Amid the eastward pivot of logistics, the ports of Southern sea basin began to play with new colors. The ports in the South get good opportunities in the segments of grain, coal, fertilizers and reefer containers. However, it is necessary to develop railway infrastructure and organize new regular services to ensure the potential realization.

The share of African countries in Russia's foreign trade increased from 2.3% in 2022 to 3.7% in 2023, according to the Federal Customs Service. Last year, Russia-Africa trade reached 18 billion US dollars. That is not the most impressive figure but in view of the continuing development of the African region and the steady growth of the continent’s population, Russian export obtain interesting prospects.

The Northern Sea Route, or, on a larger scale, the Northern Sea Transport Corridor, is increasingly important amid the sanctions and the shortage of railway capacity. Can it ensure full scale replacement of traditional deep-sea routes?

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko returned to the issues of handling Belarus’ cargo in Russian ports. According to him, the most acute one is handling of potash. A dedicated terminal can be built in Primorsk or Murmansk. What is the real situation with transshipment of Belorussian cargoes?

It is necessary to increase the number of sources of information that will improve the accuracy of ice forecasts to further develop year-round safe shipping through the Northern Sea Route, primarily east-bound voyages.

The strong performance of Russian ports in the first half of 2023 confirms the successful completion of the structural reversal of foreign trade to the East. At the same time, volume statistics revealed the shortage of railway capacity in the Far East direction. This leads to an increase in the popularity of the Southern Sea Basin, and cargo handling numbers in the North-West are also not as bad as one might expect.

Global coal prices began to decline in 2023, pushing exporters to redistribute trade flows both in the external market between recipients and within the country between the main export routes. The shortage of railway carrying capacity is observed in all marginal export directions.

In June 2023, the shipbuilding portfolio of Krasnoye Sormovo shipyard was increased with the order for 34 dry cargo ships of Project RSD59. Mikhail Pershin, General Director of Krasnoye Sormovo, tells IAA PortNews about the shipyard’s current backlog of orders, delivery plans for this year and the personnel issues.

Rosatom’s FSUE Hydrographic Company has developed successfully over its 90-year history. The achievements of the past had served as a basis of the exponential growth. The company development from expeditions on motorised wooden sailing ships to infrastructure support of megaprojects in the Arctic with annual budgets comparable to that of an average Russian region and the plans for the future are described by Aleksandr Bengert, General Director of Hydrographic Company.

The first phase of the “great pivot” of Russian foreign trade to the East has been completed: cargo flows have been redirected, the business has adapted to the new realities, and the key decisions have been made. It is time to proceed to the second phase: to create the appropriate infrastructure, build a fleet to meet new tasks, optimize state regulation and support measures.