Russian seaports six-month cargo volume rises 5.4 percent
Cargo traffic at Russian seaports in January-June, 2012 totaled 271.3 million tons, a 5.4-percent gain from the same period last year, the Association of Seaports report said.
The six-month volume of dry bulk cargo was 121.7 million tons, up 14.9% form last year’s numbers. The increase was driven mainly by a 31.6% leap (4.1 mln tons) in ferry loads volume, a 9.2-percent gain (1.8 mln mt) in scrap metal traffic, a 9.1-percent growth (2.2 mln mt) in ferrous metals volume, a 11.0% increase in coal exports (42.3 mln mt), a 8.9% gain in containerized cargoes (21.1 mln mt) and a 10.1-percent spike in non-ferrous metals volume (14.1 mln mt). Grain exports totaled 10.6 million tons, shipments of timber cargo increased by 4.4% to 3.3 mln mt.
The volume of fertilizer shrank by 14.7% to 4.9 mln tons, ore traffic was down 6.7% to 3.9 mln tons, break bulk cargo volume dropped 23.3% to 2.4 mln tons, reefer cargoes shipments fell 27.4% to 1.7 mln tons.
Shipments of liquid bulk through the nation’s ports totaled 149.6 million tons, which represents a 1.2% decline, including 95.5 million tons of crude exports (-3.3%) and 52.7 million tons of oil products (+1.3%).
In the reporting period the Russian ports saw a 10.0-percent growth in exports, to 214.5 million tons. Imports dropped 4.7% year-over-year to 22.4 million tons, primarily due to less volume of general cargo and sugar. Half-year volume of transit cargo was down to 21.7 million tons (-12.7%), short sea traffic fell 10.2% to 12.7 million tons
In the first half of 2012, stevedore companies of the Arctic basin handled 17.1 million tons of cargoes, which represents a 20.9% decline from the same period a year ago. Shipments of dry bulk cargo grew 10.7% to 11.6 million tons, the liquid bulk volume shrank by more than twofold to 5.5 million tons. Freight flows passing through the port of Arkhangelsk surged by 32.0% to 2.3 mln tons, Dudinka port cargo volume increased by 9.1% to 600,000 tons. Cargo throughput at the port of Murmansk was down 23.1% to 10.9 mln tons, handling of loads at Vitino port decreased by 16.7%, exports volume passing via Varandey terminal plummeted by 2.3 times. Kandalaksha port handled 400,000 tons (-15.9%).
The Baltic Sea-based Russian ports handled in the first half of the year 98.2 million tons of different cargoes, up 9.0% from the 2011’s figure, including 36.8 million tons of dry bulk cargo (+7.4%), 61.4 million tons of liquid bulk (+10.0%). Cargo throughput at Primorsk terminal rose 1.5% to 38.5 million tons. Port of Ust-Luga traffic soared 2.1 times to 18.9 million tons, thanks to commissioning of a new oil terminals and coal exports growth. Port of Vyborg handled 600,000 tons (+26.7%). Cargo traffic at Big Port St. Petersburg fell 2.5% to 27.7 million tons, cargo shipments through the port of Kaliningrad dropped 12.5% to 6.3 million tons, Port of Vysotsk handled 6.2 million tons (-11.7%).
Handling of exports / imports at the ports of Azov-Black Sea basin in the reporting period totaled 84.9 million tons (+7.7%). Dry bulk cargo volume leaped by 33.6% to 32.5 million tons, while liquid bulk traffic was down 3.9% to 52.5 million tons.
Cargo throughput at the Port of Novorossiysk rose 7.0% to 59.8 million tons. The port of Taman handled 800,000 tons of cargo. Cargo shipments through the port of Rostov-on-Don soared 46.0% to 4.6 million tons. Loads volume handled at the port of Kavkaz increased by 8.1% to 3.6 million tons. Port of Azov six-month throughput jumped by 44.9% to 1.9 million tons. Ports of Yeysk transshipped 1.5 million tons (+19.1%). In the reporting period freight flows passing through Taganrog port rose 1.8% to 1.4 mln tons, cargo handling at the port of Tuapse declined 4.9% to 9.3 tons, at the port of Temryuk – by 13.4% to 1 million tons.
Trade flows passing through the Caspian Sea-based Russian ports totaled 5.2 million tons (+4.0%), including dry bulk cargo - 2.5 million tons (-8.2%), liquid bulk – 2.7 million tons (+18.3%). Freight traffic at the port of Astrakhan fell 17.0% to 1.7 million tons. Cargo turnover of the port of Makhachkala was up 17.6% to 3.1 million tons. The port of Olya transshipped 400,000 tons of cargo (-24.5%).
In January-June, the ports of the Far Eastern basin saw a 6.5-percent gain in cargo volumes to 65.8 million tons. Shipments of dry bulk cargo rose 12.2% to 38.3 million tons. The six-month volume of liquid bulk was slightly down - 0.4% on last year’s figure, to 27.5 million tons. Cargo throughput at Vostochny port rose 7.3% to 20.6 million tons, at the port of Prigorodnoye – by 0.2% to 8.5 million tons, Nakhodka port handled 8.3 mln tons (+10.9%), Port of Vladivostok – 6.6 mln tons (+15.4%), the port of Posiet – 3.0 mln tons, (+27.1%). Port of Vanino freight traffic rose 4.5% to 10.1 million tons. The port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky transshipped 1.1 mln tons of different cargoes (+14.5%), the port of Kholmsk – 1 mln tons (+17.3%), the port of Korsakov – 700,000 tons (+12.4%). Cargo traffic at Port of Magadan jumped by 20.3% to t00,000 tons. Cargo throughput at the port of De Kastri dropped by 12.2% to 3.7 million tons.
Association of Commercial Sea Ports (ASOP) was founded in 1987. Currently ASOP unites more than 50 Russian organizations and enterprises of maritime transport. The Association includes commercial sea ports, forwarding and agency companies, research institutes and maritime transport schools. The outcome data of the Russian port complex is based on statistical reports, covering all stevedoring companies operating in the country. Complete statistics is presented in the quarterly report of ASOP "Cargo traffic at the ports of Russia, CIS and Baltic countries."