Water transport in Russia

Ports

Main article: Ports in Russia

River transport

Main article: River cruises

Chronicle

2024

Rosmorrechflot told how the digitalization of water transport is going on

The digitalization of water transport was discussed on December 19, 2024 at the 42nd meeting of the Council of Heads of Administrations of Inland Waterways Basins of the Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport, chaired by the head of Rosmorrechflot Andrei Tarasenko.

The participants of the meeting (among them - Deputy Head of Rosmorrechflot Fedor Shishlakov, heads of administrations of basins of internal waterways, captains of basins of internal waterways, employees of structural divisions of Rosmorrechflot and subordinate organizations) noted the introduction of the software and hardware complex "Ship Electronic Journal." It allows you to replace paper logs with digital counterparts, providing quick and convenient filling of the necessary documents with the ability to instantly access information. The technology, according to its developers, will standardize the numerous ship reporting of the technical fleet of various basin administrations.

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Freepik

Water transport in Russia also uses computer vision, which can recognize dangerous objects from a distance. It is assumed that this development will find widespread use in unmanned vessels.

Another element of the digitalization of water transport in Russia is the use of satellites. This project, in particular, is engaged in. Sitronics

We see from space with such clarity and efficiency that ground infrastructure cannot afford. Relatively speaking, there is no infrastructure in the upper reaches of our northern rivers and it costs billions to stretch it there. The satellite calmly covers this story, and we planned it taking into account the fact that we need to solve such problems, "said Nikolai Pozhidaev, President of Sitronics Group.[1]

Short-term boat rental service launched in Russia

In early April 2024, the Captains company launched the first short-term boat rental service in Russia. For this, a mobile application called AnyCaps has been released. Read more here.

2023: Passenger transportation by water transport in Russia for the year increased by 16% and reached 10.6 million people

At the end of 2023, passenger transportation by inland water transport in Russia reached 10.6 million people. This is 16% more compared to 2022, when this figure was 9.1 million passengers. Such data are provided in the report on the results of the activities of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, which TAdviser got acquainted with at the end of November 2024.

Passenger transportation by inland water transport is growing due to the increase in the popularity of river cruises and the start of regular high-speed transportation in the regions of Russia. At the same time, cargo transportation on an annualized basis decreased by 6.1% - from 116.4 million tons to 109.3 million tons. The total length of inland waterways in Russia as of the end of 2023 reached 101.7 thousand km. An annual increase in the throughput of such routes of 2.9 million tons was ensured. The Ministry of Transport says that the development of freight and passenger traffic on inland waterways is of critical strategic importance.

In the field of maritime transport, passenger transportation in 2023 was recorded at 2.7 million people. This is 19.7% less than the previous year, when the figure was estimated at 3.4 million passengers. At the same time, cargo transportation by sea rose on an annualized basis by about 5% - from 841.8 million tons to 883.8 million tons. The capacity of ports in Russia increased by 5.7% year-on-year - from 1286.5 million tons to 1360 million tons. The total number of seaports, including the Mariupol and Berdyansk complexes in the new territories, was 63.

The report also says that by the end of 2023, the level of technical equipment of emergency rescue services in water transport reached 52.5%. As noted by the State Transport Leasing Company (GTLK), in 2023, Russian shipyards handed over 44 units of civilian transport vessels - 18 passenger, 12 barges, nine dry cargo ships and five bulk ones.^[2]

2022

Growth in the number of trips on passenger ships by 5.9% to 9.1 million people

The number of trips by domestic water passenger transport in Russia in 2022 reached 9.1 million people, an increase of 5.9% compared to the previous year. This is evidenced by the data that BusinesStat analysts released in early December 2023.

According to the study, the Russian market for passenger transportation by water transport in 2022 continued to grow after an 11.8% rise in 2021. This growth in analytics of the connection with the increasing popularity of domestic water tourism among the population. Due to limited travel opportunities, sea and river cruises have become an affordable and attractive vacation option for many Russians. In addition, the increase in passenger traffic of water transport in the country was facilitated by a decrease in the availability of air traffic due to the closure of airports in the southern regions of Russia in 2022.

According to experts, a serious decline in passenger traffic in the field of water transport in 2019-2022. Participants in this market were included in the list of the most affected sectors of the economy and were given the opportunity to take advantage of state support. Thanks to the measures taken, a number of significant projects were implemented. An important event was the first construction of the Mustai Karim river-sea cruise ship at Russian shipyards in the history of the country. In addition, the first passenger ship Chaika, which runs on liquefied natural gas, was launched in Tatarstan in 2022, and a pleasure ship equipped with an electric motor was launched in St. Petersburg, the researchers noted.

According to the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, by the end of 2022, about 1.7 million people were transported on organized excursion and pleasure routes by inland water transport, which exceeds the 2021 figure by more than a third.^[3]

Russia is one of the three countries with the longest coastline

Russia is one of the three countries with the longest coastline, and the sea border of 39.4 thousand km in length is only slightly less than the equator - 40.1 thousand km. The length of inland waterways is almost 101.5 thousand km, according to this indicator, Russia is second only to China (126.6 thousand km).

Russia has transport, providing, commercial and research fleets. For 2022, almost 3.5 thousand sea vessels operate under the Russian flag. For some regions of Siberia and the Far North, water transport is the main way to deliver goods from the "big land."

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