Cargo throughput at Tuapse Commercial Sea Port, JSC in January-July 2014 rose 11% on 1H2013 figures to 6.7 million tonnes, the stevedoring company reports.
The 11-percent gain was driven by increased shipments of dry cargo, which jumped by 31% to 3.2 million tonnes. In the reporting period the port's terminal handled 0.85 million tonnes of export grain, which represents an eightfold surge from a year earlier.
"Regaining ground in grain exports was due to the expansion of the nomenclature of handled grain cargoes (peas, barley), as well as to an increase in grain supply from Kazakhstan", the port operator said.
Coal exports decreased by the same 11% (to 1.3 million tonnes) on the back of a seasonal decline in demand in major importing countries. Shipments of ferrous metals rose 5% year-on-year to 0.84 million tonnes thanks to strong demand for the commodity in foreign markets.
Handling of oil cargo edged down by 3% to 3.5 million tonnes. The decline was attributed to the redistribution of crude export flows and reconstruction RN-Tuapse Refinery LLC.
Overall, in the first six month handling of export cargoes, which account for 97% of total throughput, increased by 9% to 6.5 million tonnes. Imports (3%) soared by 141% and totaled 0.2 million tonnes, including raw sugar - 0.16 million tonnes, horticultural goods - about 0.05 million cargo.
In January-July the port handled 432 transport ships (188 of them – dry bulk carriers and 244 – oil tankers) and 47,000 railcars.
Tuapse Commercial Sea Port, JSC, is the main operator at the port of Tuapse, one of Russia’s largest ports. It is a part of UCL Port, a stevedoring division of global transportation group UCL Holding. UCL Port also consolidates OJSC Sea Port St. Petersburg, CJSC Container Terminal Saint Petersburg, Universal Handling Terminal LLC based in North-West of Russia, and Taganrog port in the South. In 2013, cargo traffic at TCSP was 12.3 million tonnes.