The idea of shifting Big Port St. Petersburg facilities beyond the city has been discussed for decades already. The recent initiative reached the level of RF President. The project is expected to be time, cost and effort, time and cost intensive. Apart from the terminals, the project will probably include the transfer of strategic shipyards. The experts are ambivalent about the idea due to the concerns over lost of jobs and flow of cargo to the Baltics.

Russian infrastructure has been developing rapidly from the beginning of the 21st century. The impressive statistics showing the growth of the domestic ports’ throughput does not reveal the hard work of many people with a variety of specializations including hydrography which ensures close control of dredging works. It was HYDROBALT Ltd. that played a crucial role in the development of Russia’s port industry. This year, the company celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Russia continues intense development of port infrastructure, hence large-scale dredging and hydraulic engineering works. In-depth discussion of the related issues was held in the framework of the Hydraulic Engineering Structures and Dredging Congress organized by PortNews Media Group.

The use of LNG, electric propulsion, methanol and biofuel to power ships is just the beginning. The latest trend is towards making the alternative fuels ‘greener’ with a focus on their carbon neutrality particularly through certain tricks like environmental charges.

In 2020, FSUE Rosmorport fulfilled its maintenance dredging plan having ensured the navigation parameters in water areas and at the approaches to 49 facilities in 22 seaports of Russia. We will elaborate on the most ambitious dredging projects.

With its new owners, Helsinki Shipyard got a new development impetus and involvement in cooperation with the Russian partners. In his interview with IAA PortNews, Helsinki Shipyard CEO Esko Karvonen tells about the company’s activities including construction of Arctic-class cruise ships.

Over the recent two decades, the stevedore business has invested billions of rubles into construction of container handling facilities in Russian ports. However, their underloading in the North-West and the South of the country is estimated at 40% on the average with the Far East being short of such facilities. Modern container terminals can be used more efficiently with the assistance of the regional and federal authorities.

The flow of Russian cargo via the ports of the Baltic states, Finland and Ukraine dropped over 1.5 times in 2020 but the devil is in the detail.

Sergey Gaidayev tells IAA PortNews about the performance of the Azov-Don Basin Administration in 2020 affected by low water level and the pandemic

Aleksey Likhachev, General Director of the State Atomic Energy Corporation "Rosatom" has arrived in Saint-Petersburg for a face-to-face meeting with the team of FSUE Hydrographic Company. Apart from reviewing the company’s operational results and plans for a period until 2025, the personnel meets the new General Director, Aleksandr Bengert, who has been with Rosatom for a long period of time, as Yury Mikhov steps down.