The aggregate throughput of the stevedoring companies incorporated in Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port Group made 59.3 mn tons during January-May declining 6.6% year-on-year.
Novorossiysk-based terminals of the group (these include Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port proper, Novoroslesexport, Importpishscheprom, Novorossiysk Shiprepair Yard and Novorossiysk Grain Terminal, and Novorossiysk Fuel Oil Terminal, a joint venture with Chernomorskie Main Pipeline Company) handled 36.2 mn tons, up 1.6% year-on-year.
Baltic Stevedore Co operating in Baltiysk was up 14.6% TEU-wise and up 12.9% tonnage-wise.
The only port where cargo traffic decreased was Primorsk, down 17.6% to 22.7 mn tons.
Liquid bulk, which accounts for the major share in the group’s aggregate throughput, declined 12.6% down to 42.5 mn tons.
Crude oil traffic via Novorossiysk was down 14.4% to 11 mn tons of crude, and via Primorsk down 23.9% to 16.1 mn tons.
Oil products volume, on the contrary, grew 6.3% up to 14.8 mn tons. Novorossiysk-based terminals handling oil products (Sheskhasris, Importpishscheprom, Novorossiysk Fuel Oil Terminal) gained 8.2% handling 8.3 mn tons, and Primorsk saw it volume grow by by 4% up to 6.5 mn tons.
Solid bulk increased 14.6% up to 7.4 mn tons. The growth was due to increasing volume of grains and iron ore. Thus, grain handling surged 31.3% up to 5.4 mn tons supported by the weaker national currency and federal subsidies for export transportation from remote regions. Iron ore traffic was up 6.2% to 1.1 mn tons.
Other solid bulk commodities demonstrated a downward trend. Coal handling dropped 21.2% down to 655.3 thousand tons impacted by the depreciation of the Turkish lira, chemicals were down 54.9% to 161 thousand tons, and raw sugar down 27.2% to 110 thousand tons.
General cargo grew 9.7% up to 6.3 mn tons, much due to the increasing volumes of ferrous metals, which were up 11.5% to 5.6 mn tons. Perishables surged 44.8% up to 142 thousand tons.
Other general cargo categories declined. Thus, non-ferrous metals were down 10.4% to 431 thousand tons, and timber and logs down 7.8% to 132 thousand tons.
Container traffic grew both in Novorossiysk and Baltiysk.