Navigation season is over in Volga-Don Basin of Russia’s IWW (photo)

Navigation season has been closed on the waterways of Russia’s Volga-Don Basin. According to Rosmorrechflot (Federal Marine and River Transport Agency) referring to Volga-Don Basin Administration, navigation on the Volga-Don Shipping Canal is closed from December 7, at the Volgograd hydrosystem – from December 10.

Preliminary results of cargo traffic in the Basin show a slight decrease: 15.888 mln t (down 3%, year-on-year). 

In the navigation season of 2017, aids to navigation were operating at 511 km of waterways including 300 km of lighted aids to navigation.

The scope of dredging works performed at the transit routes grew by 181.9%, year-on-year, to 533,600 cbm. The works were performed by 29 vessels.

Total number of floating aids to navigation – 910 including 460 floating and 450 onshore aids to navigation. The number of lighted aids to navigation – 635.

The number of lock operations during the navigation season – 86,092 (down 5%, year-on-year). The number of vessels passing the locks declined by 5% to 11,382.

Volga-Don Basin Administration covers 2,187.5 km of waterways including a 101-km long Volga-Don Shipping Canal and a number of hydraulic engineering structures on the Volga and Don rivers.