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2024 February 19   13:38

Russian seaports’ January cargo volume fell 6.5% Y/Y to 71 million tonnes (expanded version)

The ports of the Caspian and Azov-Black Sea basins showed a 1.6 times volume growth in January

Photo credit: ASOP
Cargo traffic at Russian seaports decreased by 6.5% year-on-year to 71 million tonnes in January 2024, the Association of Russian Commercial Sea Ports (ASOP) statistics showed.

The total volume of dry bulk cargo handled during the month was 32.8 million tonnes (-5.8%), including: 14.4 million tonnes of coal (-14.3%), 5.4 million tonnes of grain (+0.1%), 4.2 million tonnes of containerized cargo (+5.5%), 3.3 million tonnes of mineral fertilizers (+32.4%), 1.6 million tonnes of ferrous metals (-5.8%), 0.5 million tonnes of ore (-20.1%), and 0.5 million tonnes of cargo on ferries (-15.1%).

The total volume of liquid bulk handled last month at the country’s ports fell 6.5% year-on-year, to 38.2 million tonnes. This includes: 23.2 million tonnes of crude oil (-3.4%), 10.6 million tonnes of oil products (-18%), 3.4 million tonnes of LNG (+13.3%), and 600 000 tonnes of food cargo (+11.3%).

Handling of exports declined in January by 6% to 55.9 million tonnes. Imports volume edged down 1% to 3.2 million tonnes, while transit cargo volume rose 5.8% to 6.2 million tonnes and short sea traffic cargo increased by 15% to 5.8 million tonnes.

The Arctic Basin Seaports:
The volume of cargo handled at the region’s ports reached 7.8 million tonnes (-5.4%), including dry bulk segment: 2 million tonnes (-13.8%), liquid bulk: 5.8 million tonnes (-2.1 %). The ports of Murmansk throughput was 4.4 million tonnes (-13.2%), of Sabetta: 2.6 million tonnes (+11.3%), of Varandey: 500 000 tonnes (unchanged Y/Y) and Arkhangelsk: 100 000 tonnes (-6.1%).

The Baltic Basin Seaports:
Handling of cargo at the seaports decreased by 4.3% on the same month a year earlier, to 21.6 million tonnes. This figure included dry bulk cargo volume which rose 17.7% reaching 9.7 million tonnes, liquid bulk cargo volume dropped 17% to 11.9 million tonnes. Cargo volume at these ports was the following: a 22.6-percent decline in Ust-Luga to 9 million tonnes, Primorsk: 6.2 million tonnes (+3.4%), Great Port of St. Petersburg: 4.4 million tonnes (+43.9%), Vysotsk: 1.2 million tonnes (+1.9%).

The Azov-Black Sea Basin Seaports:
Cargo traffic the southern seaports amounted to 24 million tonnes (-7.1%), including dry bulk cargo: 10.6 million tonnes (-13.8%), liquid bulk cargo: 13.4 million tonnes (-0.9%). The Port of Novorossiysk handled 14 million tonnes (-1.5%), Taman: 3.5 million tonnes (-16.2%), Tuapse: 2 million tonnes (-9.9%), Port Kavkaz: 1.5 million tonnes (-10%), Rostov-on-Don: 1.1 million tonnes (-18.1%).

The Caspian Basin Seaports:
The volume of cargo handled at the region’s ports in January reached 0.7 million tonnes (a 1.6 times growth), of which the volume of dry bulk cargo rose two-fold to 10 million tonnes, liquid bulk cargo: 0.2 million tonnes (-0.3%). Throughput at the Port of Astrakhan surged 1.8 times year-on-year to 400 000 tonnes, the Port of Makhachkala handled 300 000 tonnes (+11.5%),

The Far Eastern Basin Seaports:
The volume of handled cargo was 16.9 million tonnes (-9.1%), including dry bulk: 10 million tonnes (-14.5%), liquid bulk: 6.9 million tonnes (+0.2 %). Throughput figures of the Far Eastern ports were the following: Vostochny: 7 million tonnes (-8.1%), Vanino: 1.6 million tonnes (-42%), Vladivostok: 2.8 million tonnes (+2.7%), Nakhodka: 2.2 million tonnes (-0.3%), Prigorodnoye: 1.3 million tonnes (-1.8%).

Passenger Traffic:
The ports’ terminals handled in January 1 407 passenger and cruise ships (a 2.6 times drop) and 53 600 passengers (a 4.1 times decline). This includes the number of passengers of departing ships: 26 300 people (a 4.2 decrease), and of arriving ships: 27 300 people (a four-fold drop). There were no transit passengers in the reporting period.
The main number of passengers in 2023 were served at dedicated passenger terminals in the following seaports – of Sevastopol: 41 900 people (a 4.8 times decline), Sochi: 8 800 people (a 2.1 times growth), Vladivostok: 2 100 people (a 27.7 times decrease).