On December 22, representatives of FSUE “Rosmorport” took part in the annual meeting of the Board of the Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport and the Public Council under the department.

At the board meeting, the participants summed up the preliminary results of the seaports activity and the development of port infrastructure in 2023, navigation on inland waterways, discussed issues of updating the marine and river fleet, increasing transport accessibility of the territories of the Russian Federation.

Alexander Yurchik, Deputy Head of Department of the President of the Russian Federation on ensuring activity of the State Council of the Russian Federation, and Vitaly Klyuyev, Director of the Department of State Policy for Marine and Inland Waterway Transport of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, greeted the board with speeches. Vitaly Klyuyev noted the effectiveness of the implementation of the key federal project “Development of Seaports”, as well as unprecedented work on the development of the Volga-Caspian Sea Shipping Canal:

“On behalf of the management of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, I express my gratitude to FSUE “Rosmorport” that made incredible efforts to fulfill the task and ensure a canal draught of 4.5 meters. Today this is a reality, despite the lack of water and a decrease in the water level in the Caspian Sea.”

Sergey Pylin, General Director of FSUE “Rosmorport”, made a report in which he emphasized the significant contribution of the enterprise, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2023, to the progressive development of the country's marine industry. By the end of this year, cargo transshipment in seaports is projected at 900 million tons, which is about 7 % higher than in 2022, he said.

“There is an increase in cargo turnover both in all marine basins and in directions, which is, among other things, a consequence of timely and consistent state policy to reorient cargo flows and develop new transport corridors in the face of unprecedented sanctions pressure from unfriendly countries,” Sergey Pylin said.

The increase in the capacity of seaports in the Murmansk Region, Primorsky Krai and Kamchatka Krai under the federal project “Development of Seaports” was facilitated by the completion of the construction of an LNG marine transshipment complex in the Murmansk Region (+10.44 million tons), a liquefied natural gas marine transshipment complex in Kamchatka Krai (+10.85 million tons), a new specialized port in Sukhodol Bay aimed at providing easier access to the port infrastructure for small and medium-sized coal mining enterprises (+0.5 million tons).

In 2023, FSUE “Rosmorport” actively participated in projects for the development of the service and auxiliary fleet. By order of the enterprise, the keels of two shallow-draft icebreakers of the new generation of project 22740M – the most powerful ones in Russia with a shallow draft (3.2 m) - were laid at the Onega Shipyard, JSC. The main vessel of the project was laid in May, the laying of the second icebreaker took place in November with the participation of Mikhail Mishustin, Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, during the events of the Transport Week.

FSUE “Rosmorport” pays particular attention to the development of the dredging and ecological fleet: in 2023, the dredger Nikolay Rusanov, designed for operations on the Volga-Caspian Sea Shipping Canal, and the bilge water removing ships Koporye and Koppi were launched. At the moment, these vessels undergo the final stage of construction and will replenish the fleet in 2024.

“It should be especially noted that in the conditions of tense situation with sea transportation of cargoes to the Kaliningrad Region, provoked by the sanctions policy of European states, the enterprise ensures successful functioning of the Seaport of Ust-Luga – Seaport of Kaliningrad ferry line and organizes uninterrupted transportation of cargoes, directly acting as a ferry operator. This year we have made 428 voyages, transported 1,593 thousand tons of cargo, including 361 thousand tons of sunctioned cargo,” Sergei Pylin said.

At the end of the year, the enterprise demonstrated the results of many years of testing a-Navigation technologies on its vessels: the start of operating the General Chernyakhovsky and Marshal Rokossovsky ferries in autonomous mode was officially announced.

FSUE “Rosmorport” participates in the organization of an uninterrupted operation of the Kerch Strait ferry line, providing towing support for ferries, as well as in measures for the comprehensive protection of the transport crossing through the Kerch Strait in terms of installation of anti-sabotage barriers (booms) to protect the surface part of the crossing.

The total volume of dredging works performed by order of the enterprise and by its own efforts in the current year amounted to 18.6 million cubic meters, including 14.4 million cubic meters of repair dredging. The main works were carried out on the Volga-Caspian Sea Shipping Canal – following the instructions of Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, FSUE “Rosmorport” provided a possibility for vessels with a draft of 4.5 meters to pass through the Volga-Caspian Sea Shipping Canal. The enterprise involved 18 dredgers in the works and ensured the extraction of more than 10 million cubic meters of soil.

For 2024, the total volume of dredging works is planned at 19.6 million cubic meters, 12.6 million cubic meters of which is repair dredging and another 7 million cubic meters is capital construction as part of the ongoing public-private partnership projects in the seaports of Ust-Luga, Novorossiysk and Tuapse.

By the end of 2023, FSUE “Rosmorport” has become a leader in digital development in the field of marine and river transport. Within the activity of the Industrial Competence Center “Sea and River Transport” (ICC) headed by the enterprise, the work on import substitution of the software of the vessel traffic management system (VTS) in the seaport of Sochi was carried out in the outgoing year for the first time in Russia. Also within the ICC, work on technical design of an information system for pilotage support has been completed, and a system is being developed that will improve the efficiency of the organization of the enterprise’s pilotage services. The implementation of the system in pilot seaports (Big Port of Saint Petersburg, Astrakhan, Olya) is planned for 2024. FSUE “Rosmorport” also continues its work aimed at creating an ecosystem that unites all digital services for external and internal customers (a service portal designed for interaction with contractors on the model of a “one-stop service” has been developed and put into trial operation in the Azovo-Chernomorsky Basin Branch; a modernized situation center has been put into commercial operation, being a “digital twin” of FSUE “Rosmorport” and allowing online monitoring of key performance indicators).

“The operating results of both the enterprise and the industry as a whole inspire some optimism and confirm that we are moving in the right direction. I would like to wish Rosmorrechflot and its subordinate organizations fruitful and effective work, positive dynamics and unchallenged fulfillment of strategic tasks,” Sergey Pylin concluded.

During the meeting, awards were presented to distinguished employees of the marine and river industry. Head of FSUE “Rosmorport” was awarded the Pyotr Gubonin Medal, named after the famous Russian railway builder and philanthropist. Olga Bragina, Deputy General Director for State Property Management of FSUE “Rosmorport”, was rewarded with a letter of gratitude from the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation for active social and political work. Mikhail Krol, consultant of the Fleet Operation Department of FSUE “Rosmorport”, was awarded the Gratitude of the President of the Association of Polar Explorers, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cooperation in the Arctic and Antarctic Artur Chilingarov for his great educational contribution to the realization of the cultural and mass project “Meeting of Generations” timed to the 10th anniversary of the Polar Explorer Day.