Volga-Don Canal traffic hits record volume
The volume of freight shipped through the Volga-Don Shipping Canal for the 2012 navigation season has exceeded 11 million tons, which is a record high in recent years, Viktor Vovk, Deputy Director of Volga-Don Canal told the meeting of the Board of the Federal Agency of Sea and River Transport (Rosmorrechflot).
According to shipowners, the VDC cargo traffic could be boosted by 3 million tons primarily through increased shipments of petroleum products. However, to achieve the significant traffic growth the VDC will need to build additional channels to increase its capacity. However, as Alexei Klyavin, President of Association of Shipping Companies (ASC) said, it is impossible as yet to increase VDC throughput capacity by more than 1 million tons.