On November 20, the Volga Shipping Company completed cargo navigation in 2017.
According to the Volga Shipping Company, the shipping company’s freight vessels transported 6.3 million ton of cargo, exceeding the performance of the previous year by 21%. The navigation lasted 244 days (from March 22 to November 20) – two days longer than last year.
In the structure of transportation, export cargoes amounted to 4 million ton (14% increase as compared with 2016). The amount of cargo transported by domestic routes increased by 600 thousand ton (35%) to 2.3 million ton.
In the navigation of 2017, a third of the total amount was grain cargo. The shipping company transported 2.2 million ton of grain, 40% more than last year. The shipping of sulphur retained the level of the previous year and amounted to 1 million ton.
The main domestic cargo was crushed stone from mining plants of Karelia. Vessels of the shipping company transported 1.5 million ton of crushed stone (40% increase as compared with 2016). Inside Russia, other cargo (metal, salt, gravel, industrial raw materials) remained at the level of the previous year.
It is mentioned that in the navigation of 2017, 79 vessels of the cargo and towing fleet were engaged in transportation, including four motor ships of the Volga-Don type that were put into operation in August to provide shipping of excessive amounts of cargo. Also, 59 non-self-propelled sections were used in transportation.
Upon completion of the navigation, all vessels were laid up for scheduled maintenance to be carried out at the shipping company’s fleet maintenance depots and shipyards.