Administration of Volga-Baltic Basin: transit navigation on the Volga-Baltic waterways not to begin before May

Transit navigation on the Volga-Baltic waterways will not begin before May, IAA PortNews correspondent cites Arkady Birger, Acting Harbour Master of Volga-Baltic Basin Administration. According to him, the locks of the Volga-Baltic waterways will be ready and open on 30 April 2018.

“As for intense transit and raising of bridges, it cannot be expected before the beginning of May since ice is still observed on the Volga-Baltic waterways, especially in the Vologda Region on the White and the Onega lakes, - explained Arkady Birger.  I would note that by the end of April, an icebreaker is expected in Cherepovets. It will assist the first convoy of ships from Volga towards Saint-Petersburg.”

Arkady Birger forecasts that the general flow of cargo ships on the Volga-Baltic waterways will number about 3,625 units in the navigation season of 2018, up about 100 ships as compared with the result of 2017.

Cargo flow is also expected to grow in 2018. According to Arkady Birger, it totaled 6.12 million tonnes in 2017 with oil cargo accounting for 10% of the total cargo flow.