Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a federated state in northern Germany and Leningrad region are set to create a logistics center in the port of Sassnitz-Mukran to boost cargo throughput at the port of Ust-Luga. Alexander Drozdenko Acting Governor of Leningrad region and Erwin Sellering Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern confirmed the intent at a meeting on June 25, 2015 in the framework of the Days of German Economy, the regional government press office said.
A delegation of 75 representatives of German business led by Mr. Erwin Sellering visited the port of Ust-Luga facilities, terminals, a train / ro-ro ferry complex.
Alexander Drozdenko noted that the ferry complex capacity was projected at 5.5 million tonnes. However, in 2014 only 1.6 million tonnes of freight were shipped through the facility, carried largely by rail transport.
"Actually, the ferry line is ready to operate at its full capacity, but the lack of logistical connections between the Russian and German business is a constraint. We need to move from the technical part of the project to the economic part and we fully support the proposal of the Minister-President to build a large logistics complex in Sassnitz-Mukran. Today we have taken a step in this direction that will ensure further economic breakthrough" Alexander Drozdenko was quoted by the press service as saying.
In his turn, Erwin Sellering suggested that German / Russian railways be operators of the future logistics hub that are capable of investing not only in the construction of railways and marshalling yards, but also in logistics facilities.
The Baltic Ferry project, a train / ro-ro ferry line Ust-Luga - Baltiysk- Sassnitz (Germany), is a project of federal significance in the transport / port development sector, one of the key parts of the East-West international transport corridor.
First sailing of the Baltiysk ferry on the Ust-Luga - Baltiysk route was in September 2006. Since 2006 Russian Railways (RZD) has been working in conjunction with the railways of Germany to enhance rail and ferry service between the stations of Sassnitz-Mukran stations, Luga and Baltiysk. In these years the partners have launched several ferries to work out all the details of shipping on the Ust-Luga-Sassnitz ferry line.
The first test sailing from the port of Sassnitz to the port of Ust-Luga was launched on 4 March 2012. Regular weekly sailings of the ferry line kicked off on June 8, 2012. The opening ceremony was attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Governor of Leningrad region Alexander Drozdenko, Vice-governor Alexander Kuznetsov, Ust-Luga Board Chairman Valery Izraylit, Deutsche Bahn AG Board Chairman, President of OAO RZD Vladimir Yakunin and Minister for Energy, Infrastructure and State Development Volker Schlotmann.
There are three ferries deployed on the Ust-Luga - Baltiysk – Ust-Luga ferry line and owned by subsidiaries of Russian Railways.
The largest of them is the "Petersburg", a train / ro-ro and passenger ferry with capacity of 103 rail cars, 308 automobiles and 120 passengers.
There are 7 to 8 sailings a month (depending on the schedule and weather conditions) with voyage time of 40 hours.
Overall, the ferry service Ust-Luga - Sassnitz has transported about 254,000 tonnes of cargo, including 861 vehicles and 4,171 railcars.
Experts predict that in the next 15 years, many countries, such as France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria will join the ferry line project, since they also transport some 20 million tonnes of export cargo to Russia.
To make the ferry line operation more efficient and comfortable, Russia is carrying out overhaul of near-dock and off-dock rail access tracks and is building a new modern road connection to the port of Ust-Luga from the Narva highway and a bypass around St. Petersburg with access to the highway to Moscow, as well as reconstructed road "Peterhof - Keikino."
The ferry line operators plan to introduce EDMS, a 'single window' mode for cargo clearance and reduce the time of Customs and Border Protection procedures at the port, which will help increase the line competitiveness.
Rail / Ro-Ro ferry complex (AZHPK) in the seaport of Ust-Luga is a facility for receiving and handling of ro-ro cargo, of train / Ro-Ro and passenger ferries plying between Russia's Baltiysk and Germany's Sassnitz. The facility territory encompasses 24 hectares. Projected capacity is about 5.5 million tonnes per year. The complex operates a yard consisting of 16 rail tracks over 8 km in length, for accommodation of at least 200 railcars simultaneously.
In 2014 the ferry complex handled 1,611 tonnes of cargo (+ 40%), including freight delivered by rail transport - 1,527 tonnes (18,800 railcars). In the first month of the year the terminal handled 566,300 tonnes, including 546,500 tonnes carried by rail transport (6,900 cars).
The capacity of the ferry infrastructure in Ust-Luga is 37,500 railcars a year (in one way). RZD assessment shows that in 2014 total rail traffic in the Kaliningrad region coupled with the ferry service amounted to 168,000 cars or 8.5 million tonnes. Consequently, to boost capacity the ferry infrastructure needs additional 130,500 rail cars a year. The issue of enhance transport links with Kaliningrad region and increase the number of operating ferries on the Baltiysk - Ust-Luga line is being discussed at the federal level. For the enclave territory ferries are a reliable channel for freight shipping, independent of the tariff policy of neighboring states or of operation of automobile border crossing points.
RZD has proposed to increase the capacity of the Ust-Luga - Baltiysk ferry line through reducing the time clearing ferries at the port and at the crossing which will increase the number of sailings. To do this RZD mulls building on the ferry complex in Ust-Luga and Baltiysk of a double-deck linkspan to roll on railcars on the top deck of the "Petersburg".
The Russian Transport Ministry is currently considering a proposal to deploy at least three additional ferries for the line.