The aggregate throughput of the stevedoring companies incorporated in Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port Group made 47.5 mn tons during January-April declining 6.1% year-on-year.
In terms of geography, the only port where cargo traffic decreased was Primorsk, down 18.5% to 18.1 mn tons.
Baltic Stevedore Co operating in Baltiysk was up 8.1% TEU-wise and up 11.8% tonnage-wise.
Novorossiysk-based terminal assets handled 29.1 mn tons, up 3.6% year-on-year.
The only segment demonstrating a downward trend was liquid bulk, which accounts for some 77% of the aggregate throughput. Liquid cargo made 33.9 mn tons in January-April 2018, declining 12.5% year-on-year.
Crude oil traffic via Novorossiysk and Primorsk was down 20.3% to a total of 21.5 mn tons. Novorossiysk lost 11% handling 8.8 mn tons of crude, while Primorsk dropped 25.6% to 12.7 mn tons.
Oil products volume, on the contrary, grew 5.6% up to 12.1 mn tons. Novorossiysk gained 6% handling 6.6 mn tons, and Primorsk was up 5.1% to 5.4 mn tons.
Solid bulk increased 13.2% to 6.1 mn tons. Grain handling surged 29.7% up to 4.6 mn tons. Iron ore traffic was up marginally by 0.8% to 726 thousand tons.
Other solid bulk commodities demonstrated a downward trend. Coal was down 15.9% to 537 thousand tons, chemicals down 67.6% to 106 thousand tons, and raw sugar down 1.1% to 110 thousand tons.
General cargo grew 14.9% up to 5 mn tons, much due to the increasing volumes of ferrous metals and cast iron, which were up 16.1% to 4.4 mn tons.
Timber and logs handling declined 8.9% down to 105 thousand tons.