The State Duma (lower house of Russian parliament) says it has passed in the first reading the bill on short-sea shipping. State Secretary, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Sergey Aristov said the draft law has been developed to fix the preferential right of vessels operating under the flag of the Russian Federation to perform shipping and towing operations between the seaports of Russia.
According to him, “the bill is targeted at creating favorable social and economic conditions in the field of short-sea shipping basing on the balanced interests of the state, carriers and consumers of their services as well as at enhancing the competitiveness of carriers that perform shipping and towing operations on vessels sailing under the flag of the Russian Federation.
Co-speaker, Chairman of the State Duma Transport Committee Evgeny Moskvichev said the Committee supports the draft law: “The changes will let Russian carriers build up the volumes of transportation”.
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