MOSCOW, November 12. /TASS/. Containerized cargoes may replace coal in the Murmansk port's eastern part when the coal transshipment service is relocated to the Lavna port's special terminal on the Kola Bay's western shore, the Murmansk Region's Governor Andrey Chibis said in an interview with TASS.

"By having the Lavna port on the Kola Bay's western shore - a specialized coal terminal - we can solve this issue by replacing [coal services on] the eastern shore with other cargoes," he said. "Some fertilizers and iron ore concentrate cargoes are being transshipped there. One of the options, in our opinion, is related to containerized cargoes."

The regional authorities have been working on ways to replace bulk cargo and offer incentives to attract new cargoes, including special conditions for rail transportation for certain types, he continued. "We are doing everything without hurrying so that, on one hand, not to disrupt the port's work, and at the same time to remove coal from the city center. This is a significant issue for Murmansk residents, and I received support from the Russian president when I voiced this topic to him during our meeting," he said.

In August, at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, the governor suggested relocating coal transshipment from downtown Murmansk, where the port is located, to the Kola Bay's western shore where construction of the Lavna port was at the final stage. Coal transshipment is clearly associated with dust in the city and worries local people a lot.

Murmansk transport hub development

The range of containerized cargoes, when the coal transshipment is relocated to the Kola Bay's western shore, is practically unlimited, since along with development of the Murmansk transport hub and its participation in global corridors, such as North-South, the city will become a global logistics hub, Alexey Fadeev of the St. Petersburg Committee for Arctic Affairs explained to TASS.

"Due to various circumstances, the Murmansk port is no longer a purely a fishing port, it has become rather a trade and transport hub serving very many cargoes. We stress it is necessary, in a global sense, to extend international transport corridors to Murmansk. When and if this is done, the region and the Murmansk transport hub will obtain completely different stimuli for economic development. At first, colossal cargoes will be shipped by rail and then along the Northern Sea Route to final destinations, thus improving the Murmansk ecology, since coal transshipment will be only inside a specialized terminal of the Lavna port on the west bank," the expert stressed.

Coal transshipment in Murmansk

Coal transshipment in the port of Murmansk continues since Soviet times by an open grab method. The Murmansk Commercial Seaport has been using technologies to cut negative environmental consequences from the handling, since nearest residential buildings are only about 180 m away. The relocation of coal transshipment within 3-5 years to the Lavna port, which is under construction on the Kola Bay's western shore (this is the Murmansk Transport Hub's anchor project, where transshipment will be in a completely closed manner), will eliminate the coal dust impact on residential buildings. The terminal's construction is currently at the final stage, and the terminal is due to be into operation before year 2024 ends.

The Murmansk seaport is the only deep-water backbone port in the Russian Arctic. It is among Russia's five largest ports in terms of cargo transshipment - the cargo traffic made 58 million tons in 2023. Bulk cargoes (coal, coking coal) make about 30% of the traffic.