The Northern Sea Route and the Arctic ports are increasingly important due to restrictions imposed on Russian ships in foreign waters and also due to the shortage of port infrastructure in the Far East and Southern basins. However, the creation of the Arctic transport fleet faces a number of challenges with the maintenance among them.

In the first quarter of 2023, cargo traffic on the North-South corridor doubled to 2.3 million tonnes. However, numerous problems hinder the development of this route and force the market players look at underloaded terminals of the Baltic basin.

With the worsening of relations with the Baltic states, the issue of transporting goods to/from the Kaliningrad has aggravated. The sea route is virtually the only viable alternative to land transit. Vessels sail regularly to the Kaliningrad Region from both the port of Ust-Luga in the Leningrad Region and from Great Port of Saint-Petersburg.

The withdrawal of foreign suppliers has become an endurance test for the domestic industry including the shipbuilding. Many companies have managed to pass the stress test successfully but in some cases the difficulties are inevitable. There are problems with the critical ship equipment: engines, power plants, steering machinery, etc. An efficient interaction between private investors and the state supported by mutual guarantees is to be established to solve the problems.

Restricted shipping in the Sea of Azov, sanctions against Russian companies, challenging weather conditions – the year of 2022 was not easy for the Azov-Don basin of inland waterways. However, it is still a promising region for building up the cargo base. The construction of the Bagaevsky hydrosystem continues on the Don river, and year-round shipping through the basin towards the Caspian and the Azov seas will be launched the future.

Belarus has cut a window, but not to Europe. Amid the European sanctions, the Republic of Belarus has begun to develop Russian ports, hoping to obtain Port Bronka, a multi-purpose terminal in Saint-Petersburg, as well as port facilities for handling its cargo in Russia’s north and south.

Despite the economic turbulence, Russian shipyards are loaded with orders. Their implementation, along with other problems, is complicated due to the lack of qualified personnel. In 2022, the number of new vacancies posted by shipbuilding companies rose by 26%, year-on-year.

Сoal exports are still profitable via all basins of Russia but the level of profitability varies. Amid insufficient capacity of the railway infrastructure providing the link with the Far East, exporters are switching to the South and the Baltic region. The task of developing the Black Sea basin infrastructure was set by the President of Russia in his recent Address to the Federal Assembly.

Despite the sanctions, Russia managed to make good money on the export of mineral fertilizers last year. Domestic ports contributed essentially to this success. Yet, will it be possible to make it last?

The capacity of Russian seaports increased by 37 million tonnes in 2022. In the coming years it is to show further growth with the implementation of large-scale projects in all basins of the country. A considerable scope of hydraulic engineering works is to be conducted on inland water ways. However, it is necessary to create our own dredging fleet for implementation of those projects.