The volume of cargo moved by North-West Shipping Company (NWSC) in the first quarter of 2011 remained unchanged as compared to the figures in Q1, 2010, at 1,42 million tons, the company’s press service reports.
The volume of shipping of imported cargo surged by 45%, to 152,000 tons, the company said.
Three-month volume of foreign-to-foreign trades of NWSC totaled 764,000 tons, on a par with last year’s figures.
Ice-bound conditions in the Gulf of Finland contributed to a 20-percent cutback in exports volume carried by the operator in the reporting period (501,000 t).
However, there was a 32-percent increase (172,000 tons) in shipping of exported scrap metal. Transportation of building materials rose as much as 37% to 43,500 tons thanks to increased volume of traffic between foreign ports.
Despite the grain exports ban, the company boosted the cargo shippings by 22% to 317 tons, due to grain shipments between foreign ports. Fertilizer volume was at the level of Q1, 2010, 316,000 tons.
NWSC, part of VBTH, is a majority owned shipping asset of UCL Holding. The Dutch-registered Universal Cargo Logistics Holding (UCL Holding) is an international transportation holding comprising stevedoring companies of Sea Port of Saint-Petersburg and Universal Transshipment Complex; Tuapse and Taganrog ports; Volga Shipping, North-West Shipping and Western Shipping companies; a number of shipbuilding, shipping and logistics assets.
The company operates a fleet of 135 vessels with total deadweight of about 450,000 tons, including 110 ‘river-sea’ ships, 6 barges, 12 tugboats and 7 auxiliary ships. NWSC’s annual shipping volume reaches about 6 million tons.