ARKHANGELSK, March 4. /TASS/. The cargo traffic of the Arkhangelsk sea port grew by 30% in 2024 against 2023, the region's Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Industry Viktoria Pestova told an Arctic conference of students and young scientists.
"The cargo range has changed positively. That applies to sea transportation. We also have river transportation, which is also quite extensive, but right now sea transportation is bigger than river transportation due to the export-import traffic, since we had practically no export-import over past five years. By now, the export-import has exceeded one million tons, and these shipments have boosted the cargo traffic and changed the range of goods," she said.
The Arkhangelsk seaport is a key starting point for China's NewNew Shipping Line container line, and shipping from Arkhangelsk is part of the Arctic Express No. 1 project. In 2023, there was one export voyage carrying 380 containers, in 2024 there were ten export-import voyages (five export and five import), where 13,500 20ft containers were handled. China received timber products, and Russia - cars and various equipment.
The number of such voyages may double over 2025. "As for Arctic Express No. 1, we have an ambitious goal to build up the number of voyages. Secondly, of course, to attract new goods, possibly to cooperate with new countries. For example, Malaysia - the interest is great, India also has an interest in the Northern Sea Route. We need to step up international cooperation and promote our port at all possible sites so that other countries knew that Arkhangelsk exists, that it has certain advantages, and it may handle almost any cargo to any destination, both eastbound and westbound," the expert continued.
Malaysia and India are interested in timber products, and those countries may ship, for example, technological equipment and chemical products.
Fertilizer supplies and coastal transportation
The Arkhangelsk seaport has become an alternative port to export mineral fertilizers. Traditionally, this cargo was transported through Baltic ports. Fertilizers may be shipped in bulk from St. Petersburg, while shipments through Arkhangelsk are in big bags - special soft containers. Since April 2024, more than 500,000 tons of fertilizers have been shipped from Arkhangelsk to Africa, Asia and Latin America. The annual transshipment is estimated at 1 million tons. "For example, mineral fertilizers from us are shipped to Brazil, Chile, Cote d'Ivoire, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, India, Mauritania, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, Peru, Senegal, Tanzania," she continued. "In other words, our port plays a very significant role in ensuring food security in other countries."
Coastal shipments have grown by about 5% year-on-year. Arkhangelsk, for example, serves supplies of goods for the North, including to the Far East and Chukotka. "I think, this traffic will increase, taking into account the fact that those projects that are gaining capacity have been moving slightly to the right. Thus, I believe, we will return to the pre-sanctions period [rates] in coastal transportation," she said.
Port development
Recently, the Arkhangelsk port has been handling 5-6 million tons of cargo, while the capacity is 11 million tons.
The port continues works on the port's deep-water area, some 70 km from Arkhangelsk. That will be a new transport infrastructure with different depths to serve vessels of 75,000 tons deadweight and a capacity of 5,000 containers.
The port's development requires additional infrastructures, like highways and a railway to the new location. While right now the existing railway copes fine with the current volume of cargo, the capacity will be insufficient as the cargo traffic increases.