Improvement of shipping companies’ efficiency is a priority of Russian Chamber of Shipping for 2015, RCS President says

Improvement of shipping companies’ efficiency is among key priorities of Russian Chamber of Shipping in 2015, IAA PortNews journalist cites RCS President Aleksei Klyavin as saying at the general meeting of the organization. Besides, Russian Chamber of Shipping will continue its work on improvement of the legislation and regulatory framework in the sphere of marine and inland water transport. Encouraging of fleet renovation and ensuring safe navigation, shipping and transportation are still crucial tasks of RCS.

The Chamber has elaborated proposals to be included into the RF Government’s Anti-Crisis Plan. In the sphere of marine transport they suggest development and introduction of additional measures aimed at increasing the share of Russian shipping companies’ fleet in the total foreign trade and transit transportation.  For this purpose it is necessary to introduce amendments into the Law on the Principles of State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities; to extend the ‘coastal shipping’ concept; to secure strategic cargoes to vessels flying the flag of Russia; to introduce amendments into the Law Concerning Production Sharing Agreements and the Law Concerning Subsurface Resources; to develop measures aimed at fleet renovation.

As for the river transport, the Chamber suggests the following activities: increased financing for the maintenance of inland water ways and navigational hydraulic structures, accelerated transition to 100-pct financing according to newly approved standards; debottlenecking of IWW in the shortest possible period; development of a package of measures providing state support to inland water transport including those aimed at fleet renovation.

Russian Chamber of Shipping numbers over 80 organizations of marine and river transport which operate the fleet with the aggregate deadweight of almost 20 mln t.