On May 5, an icebreaker carried out piloting of the first three vessels across the Onega lake – the only section of the Volga-Baltic waterway not to be used for navigation in 2009, PortNews IAA learnt from Vldimir Nikolayev, head of Volgo-Balt State Basin Authority. According to him, 13 vessels sailing from Volga to St. Petersburg need icebreaker piloting across the lake which is still covered with thick ice. He also added that all hydraulic engineering facilities at Volga-Baltic waterway were opened on April 30 in compliance with the schedule of navigation-2009.
First transit vessels from the Volga will call on St. Petersburg on May 9. This year Volga-Baltic transit was started two weeks later as compared with navigation-2008.
Volgo-Balt State Basin Authority is a territorial body managing river transport under Transport Ministry of the Russian Federation. It services almost 4,000 km of Russia’s inland waterways. In 2008, 18.2 million tonnes of cargo was carried by waterways within VB supervision (7.2 million tonnes towards the Volga, 11 million tonnes towards the Baltic Sea including 7 million tonnes of export cargo). During last navigation, 143 shipping companies made use of VB services.
First transit vessels from the Volga will call on St. Petersburg on May 9. This year Volga-Baltic transit was started two weeks later as compared with navigation-2008.
Volgo-Balt State Basin Authority is a territorial body managing river transport under Transport Ministry of the Russian Federation. It services almost 4,000 km of Russia’s inland waterways. In 2008, 18.2 million tonnes of cargo was carried by waterways within VB supervision (7.2 million tonnes towards the Volga, 11 million tonnes towards the Baltic Sea including 7 million tonnes of export cargo). During last navigation, 143 shipping companies made use of VB services.