OREANDA-NEWS. June 11, 2009. In January-May 2009, seports of Russia handled 193.4 million tonnes of cargo (+5.3%, year-on-year) including 74.5 million tonnes of dry cargo (-4.1%) and 118.9 million tonnes of liquid bulk cargo (+12.2%), Association of Sea Commercial Ports informs.

In the reported period, transshipment of export cargo increased by 6.6% to 149.6 million tonnes including 23.2 million tonnes of coal (+6.9%), 8.2 million tonnes of coal (up 10-fold), 2.0 million tonnes of ore (up almost 3-fold) and 91.5 million tonnes of liquid bulk cargo (+6.7%). Transshipment of mineral fertilizers fell by 34%, timber – by 46%, ferrous metal – by 11%, containerized cargo – by 15%.

Transshipment of import cargo fell by 42% to 10.4 million tonnes. Import of containerized cargo fell by 44%, general cargo – by 51%.

Transshipment of transit cargo via seaports of Russia climbed 10.7% (18.5 million tonnes) due to transshipment of crude while the volume of transit dry cargo fell by 43.7%. Transshipment of coastal trade cargo grew 1.7 times (14.9 million tonnes): dry cargo – up 33.5%, liquid bulk cargo – up 2-fold.

Seaports of the North-West region handled 87.4 million tonnes of cargo (+0.4%) including 29.1 million tonnes of dry cargo (-18.4%) and 58.3 million tonnes of liquid bulk cargo (+13.4%); Southern ports – 72.8 million tonnes (+15.4%) including 24.5 million tonnes of dry cargo (+31.2%) and 48.4 million tonnes of liquid bulk cargo (+8.7%); Far Eastern ports – 33.2 million tonnes (-0.9%) including 21.0 million tonnes of dry cargo (-10.5%) and 12.2 million tonnes of liquid bulk cargo (+21.3%).

Association of Sea Commercial Ports (ASOP) set up in 1987 unites over 50 organizations and enterprises of Russia’s maritime transport. ASOP comprises commercial seaports, forwarding and agency companies, scientific research institutes and marine educational institutions. Operational results of Russian port sector are based on statistics reports and cover all stevedoring companies operating in the Russian Federation.