Sovcomflot is eager to operate new cruise harbour in Sochi (photo)
Sovcomflot Group intends to become an operator of the new cruise harbour in Sochi. According to the statement of the Group’s press center, Sovcomflot participated in reconstruction of Sochi seaport within the framework of the Olympic investment programme through private-public partnership.
In October 2009, Commercial Seaport of Sochi OJSC, a subsidiary of Novoship OJSC, signed a contract with Olympstroy (State Corporation for Construction of Olympic Venues) and was put in charge of implementation of the project on reconstruction of the port’s shore infrastructure.
The project implementation took four years. Over this period, SCF Group created a yacht harbour, partly restored the historical building of the passenger terminal and built an exhibition complex and a shopping mall. All these were built at the company’s own expense.
The Olympic investment project is commercially interesting for Sovcomflot Group, the facilities built already bring profits to SCF. During the Olympic Games, the exhibition complex will accommodate the Media Center for 400 journalists covering the main sport event of the world (over 3,000 journalists have been accredited by the Center). The shopping mall now has a new owner. State-of-the-art yacht harbour with 300 places will welcome its first guests after the Olympic Games. Sochi yacht marina, the first and so far the only professional marina at the Black Sea coast of Russia, will provide new opportunities for Russia in organization of world class sport events. In May 2014, it will welcome the participants of SCF Black Sea Tall Ships, globally known regatta of training sailboats. Its history goes back to 1956, but it will the first time for the Black Sea. Sovcomflot is the sponsor of the event.
Federal Marine and River Transport Agency, in its turn has built a new cruise harbour in Sochi including new hydraulic facilities and a passenger terminal with a checkpoint. 300 cruise ships will annually deliver 250,000 Russian and foreign tourists there. During the Olympics 2014 it will be used in full. Four floating hotels have recently moored at the harbour: 300-meter long five-star cruise ship Norwegian Jade, 170-meter long Princess Maria and Princess Anastasia, as well as 140-meter long SNAV Toscana. They can accommodate some 9,000 passengers. Besides, training tall ship Mir of the Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping and four-masted barque Kruzenshtern have arrived in Sochi. They will participate in the cultural programme of the Sochi Olympics.
SCF Group acted as a co-investor into the construction of the new passenger terminal. Now Sovcomflot is eager to make Commercial Seaport of Sochi OJSC the operator of the new cruise harbour.
Sovcomflot Group is Russia’s largest shipping company and one of the world’s leading shipping companies specializing in the maritime hydrocarbons transportation and supporting continental shelf exploration and oil & gas production. The SCF fleet includes 156 vessels with a combined deadweight of around 12 million tonnes. One third of them have a high ice class. The Group specialises in hydrocarbon transportation from regions with challenging ice conditions. Sovcomflot supports large-scale offshore energy projects in Russia and the rest of the world, including: Sakhalin-I, Sakhalin-II, Varandey, Prirazlomnoye, Tangguh, Escobar, and Peregrino.
The company is registered in Saint-Petersburg and has representative offices in Moscow, Novorossiysk, Murmansk, Vladivostok, London, Limassol, Madrid, Singapore and Dubai.