Russian Ports Research Articles

МОРСКАЯ ТРАНСПОРТНО-ЛОГИСТИЧЕСКАЯ ИНФРАСТРУКТУРА КАСПИЙСКОГО РЕГИОНА: ПРОБЛЕМЫ И ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ РАЗВИТИЯ

The paper focuses on the problems of intensive building international transport corridors bypassing Russia, accelerated growing of economic systems of China, India and, in the near future, Iran, which necessitate creating the competitive marine transportation and logistics infrastructure in the Caspian region, whose favorable geographical location makes for realizing the transit potential of cargo transportation across the territory of Southern Russia. Based on the study of modern approaches to the concept of logistics infrastructure, the content and object component of the maritime transport and logistics infrastructure have been clarified. It has been found that the letter of the Federal Customs Service No.21-50/39656 dated 21.08.2009 is the only regulating document specifying functions and main points of the logistics infrastructure in the Russian Federation. Special issues reflecting real state of the marine transportation and logistics infrastructure have been considered in terms of the Strategy of sea port infrastructure development up to 2030. The study of the place and role of the Caspian region in creating the international transport corridors “North-SOUTH”, the Chinese project “One zone, one road”, “East-West” has revealed the competitive advantages of Russian ports in the Caspian sea. Three of the twenty four operating sea ports on the Caspian seashore belong to the Russian Federation: port Astrakhan, port Olya, and port Makhachkala. The problems and prospects for the development of sea trade have been defined; the need to create the modern marine transportation and logistics infrastructure within the framework of unified transport and logistics policy in the Caspian region has been inferred.

Relationship between the Russian fishing fleet and domestic ports as the core for performing its state mission

The article provides a rationale for the main task of the Russian fishing fleet to implement the Food Security Doctrine of the Russian Federation under the terms of public-private partnership. The paper describes changes in the activities of the fishing fleet in the Northern fishery basin that were caused by the process of operating in the market economy environment, the way these factors impact on the activities of subsidiary and service companies, as well as the development of enterprises and companies involved in the fishery sector. The paper provides the reasons for the low availability and quality of domestic fish products for the population in the Arctic region. In connection with the predominantly export-oriented trends in the fishing industry of the Murmansk region affecting the calls of trawlers at Russian ports it was concluded that there was a need for a national policy regulating these closely related processes. The article justifies measures to improve the relationship between fishing vessels and domestic ports in the Arctic region. To increase the supply of raw fish and fish semi-finished products for coastal fish processing factories, as well as to increase a number of high-level processed fish products, it was suggested to use medium fishing freezer trawlers (MFFT, according to the classification adopted by PINRO) according to the rules of coastal fishing. The paper provides assessment for possible impacts from the delivery of fish products by “non-call” fishing vessels (i.e. fishing vessels that did not perform customs declaring procedures) on the level of economic activities in the fisheries industry. Expert assessments for the costs of repairing “non-call” fishing vessels abroad are provided as well. The paper provides estimates of additional tax investments into the Russian national budget from the Murmansk ship-repair factories in case servicing of “non-call” fishing vessels is provided in the Russian Federation. Refocusing of fish landings will provide a fisheries cluster in the Northern Basin.

РЕТРОСПЕКТИВНЫЙ АНАЛИЗ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОГО РАЗВИТИЯ МОРСКИХ ПОРТОВ РОССИИ (КОНЕЦ XIX - НАЧАЛО XX ВЕКА)

The article dwells upon the slow development of the Russian seaports and low rates of the cargo turnover compared to the growth of industrial and agricultural production. The low purchasing power of the population, high competition of the Russian export commodities in the world markets held back the increase in imports and exports. The railway network that had government preferences competed with seaports and hindered from growing coastal shipping. The Russian ports lagged behind the largest ports in Western Europe in terms of cargo turnover and technical equipment. In the Russian ports cargo operations took a lot of time due to the lack of berthing places, equipment and warehouses in the port area. The high expenditures of ship and cargo owners in seaports caused increased the freight cost and price for goods for the end consumers, which in general negatively influenced the development of the Russian economy. The small (relative to investment needs) amounts of private and equity capital, as well as high inflation, did not allow financing the construction and modernization of ports at the expense of private investors. Attracting the private capital was hindered by the high centralization of the seaport management system. The historically built ownership system in the Russian ports has identified almost the only source of financing - the state budget burdened with huge debts, whose priorities did not include the development of seaports. Their financing was hundreds of times less than the amount of financing ports in Western Europe and the USA. There has been analyzed the volume and dynamics of the turnover in the Russian seaports in comparison with the similar indicators of the Western European ports and ports of the United States, property relations in the seaports have been studied, and the levels of technological development have been presented. The seaports management system in Russia has been analyzed. The level of development of seaports was compared with the level of industrial and agricultural development.

ТИПОЛОГИЯ ПРОСТРАНСТВЕННО-ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИХ ФОРМ МОРСКИХ ПОРТОВЫХ АГЛОМЕРАЦИЙ

The article analyzes the spatial and economic forms of marine port agglomerations. The notion ‘port agglomeration’ and genesis of different sea port agglomerations have been reviewed. Theoretical basis of the analysis is presented by the works of V. N. Obraztsov, S. V. Zemblinov, I. Tyunen, S. Zamansky, M. Porter et al. Transport processes, arrangement of transport junctions, assessment of their influence on the performance of the regional economics have been stated to take importance in the research conducted by the scientists. The detailed economic characteristics of a transport hub, regional sea transport and logistic complexes, transport and logistics cluster and special economic zones of the port type has been given. The concept of cross-border sea transport and logistic clusters has been formulated; their typology according to economic grounds has been developed. As a result of the statistical analysis of cargo turnover in the Russian ports there came out two clusters with great cargo turnover. There have been given data about the large Russian ports: Novorossiysk, Ust’-Luga, Port Vostochny, Primorsk, Port St. Petersburg, Murmansk, Port-Caucasus, Vanino, Tuapse, Nakhodka. It has been inferred that the great number of ports function as port junctions and need investments and modernization of the main production assets. The Russian sea transport and logistic complex is a part of the global transport system, in which can be seen similar changes and lagging from the developed countries. Very few of the Russian ports develop dynamically and can be reorganized into the transport- logistic clusters.

Public-private partnerships and their role in enhancing the cargo handling efficiency of container lines in the Black sea

The article discusses the current situation in the container shipping market and the terminal infrastructure in the Black Sea region. The analysis is based on the container fleet database accumulated by the author. These data are used for making observations and predictions and drawing conclusions about the dynamics of the marine transportation market. The methodological framework comprises theoretical, empirical and mathematical methods. The comparative analysis of container services of different Russian terminals and ports has shown that the market is now undergoing major transformations and suffers from a considerable imbalance due to the rapid growth in deadweight tonnage and the insufficient capacity of the infrastructure, which means that it is unable to keep up with the rising demand. The excess of deadweight tonnage and the shortage of the necessary equipment leads to chronic bottlenecks in cargo handling, cargo clearance and so on. To address these problems, it is proposed to explore the opportunities provided by the integration of public-private partnerships into the service structure of maritime transport. By focusing on the case of the Russian port of Novorossyisk, the article demonstrates that public-private partnerships are able to enhance the efficiency of cargo-handling operations of container lines in the Black Sea region.

Comparison of port activities of the East Coast of the Baltic Sea: 1996–2016

The object of research is the performance of ports in the East Coast of the Baltic Sea for the period from 1996 to 2016. By comparing the performance of Russian ports and ports in the Baltic States, the trend of significant growth in cargo turnover in the ports of the region is revealed. The aggregate cargo turnover in the ports of Russia and the Baltic States has increased 4.5-fold over the last 20 years. An analysis of the comparative performance of all the ports of the East Coast of the Baltic Sea for 20 years has shown their growing relevance in development of economic and trade relations between the Asian and European regions. Despite a sharp increase in cargo transshipment in the newly constructed Russian ports (24 times in 20 years), the ports of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia still show positive dynamics (twice in 20 years). Contrary to the current opinion on the decrease in the role of ports in the Baltic countries, the article shows the factors of their development, including the participation of Russian capital in the construction of new terminals in the ports of Latvia and Estonia (Riga, Sillamae), and by attracting cargo from other regions (Lithuania, Klaipeda). All ports of the East Coast of the Baltic Sea Region have development of potential in expanding ties with the rapidly developing Asian region (China, India). The volumes of transit between Europe and Eurasia are constantly growing, and only in the first quarter of this year the supplies from Europe to China grew by 12 %, and from China to Europe – by 7 %, amounting to 62 billion USD and 81 billion USD respectively. An analysis of the Baltic ports is also important in connection with the development of the large and promising Belarusian project «Great Stone», of which the Chinese national logistics company is a partner and which should connect China via Belarus with the German port of Duisburg. Thus, the possibility of organizing multimodal transportation from Germany to China via the Riga port is being considered because of the limited capacity of the Polish and Slovak railways to transport Chinese goods through the Minsk logistics center «Great Stone» to Europe. In this context, the use of the Riga port with a large potential for development of the port territories can significantly strengthen its economic position, and thereby influence the growth of the Latvian economy. The following factors influence the development of transport corridors in the Baltic Sea Region in order of importance: geography, economics, politics, transport infrastructure and new technologies of logistics business. If we talk about the ports of the Baltic countries, then there is a narrowing of geographical plans due to the reorientation of cargo to Russian ports. The economy is influenced by tariff policy. The influence of politics is still great. The most optimistic is the impact of transport infrastructure.

С. Ю. Вітте про значення залізниць у становленні та розвитку торговельного мореплавства

The article presents the process of relations between railways and sea ports. The analysis is based on the article by S.Vitte «Russian ports and railway tariffs». S.Vitte tried to find out how fair the criticism of the current tariff policy of the South-Western Railways was and to find out to what extent the interests of domestic ports could really be supported by railroad tariffs. First and foremost, Sergei Julievich emphasized that this issue should be fully addressed exclusively at the state level. He was convinced that a clear norm was needed that would establish general rules for all, without exception, railways, regardless of the form of ownership. After all, the railway cannot arbitrarily dispose of the movement of goods, it must work in accordance with social-economic laws.

The British and Irish press and the outbreak of war with the Ottoman Empire in 1914

ABSTRACTOn November 5, 1914, after the Ottoman Navy bombarded Russian ports in the Black Sea, Britain and the Ottoman Empire were at war with each other. For the better part of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Britain had, in fact, supported the Ottoman Empire from foreign aggressors and worked hard to maintain the territorial integrity of the latter’s borders. War with Constantinople marked a considerable change in Britain’s foreign policy. How, then, did the press, both in Britain and Ireland, react to the outbreak of war between the two powers? This article argues that the Committee of Union and Progress, Constantinople’s ruling political body, was represented in the war’s opening months as a pro-German pawn, as an enemy of Islam and Muslims worldwide, and as a crypto-Jewish cabal, made up of dönmeh (Jewish converts) from Salonika, pushing the Ottoman Empire towards a hopeless war.

Exploring the current situation and future prospects of the cooperation between the Japanese and Russian ports across the Sea of Japan: Viewed from the Russian Perspective

Exploring the current situation and future prospects of the cooperation between the Japanese and Russian ports across the Sea of Japan: Viewed from the Russian Perspective

Russian Energy Transit Policy in the Baltic Sea Region

This article critically analyzes Russia’s ‘aggressive’ nationalist energy transit policy in the Baltic Sea region to offer an alternative understanding of the consequences for the Baltic states. Four case studies will be used to analyze Russia’s energy transit policy in the Baltic Sea region. First, the 2003 closure of the oil pipeline in the port city Venstpils in Latvia, second, the closure of the Druzbha oil pipeline in Lithuania in 2006, third, the construction of the Nord Stream pipeline, and finally, the construction of new Russian ports in Ust-Luga and Primorsk. The case studies will be carried out using a theoretical framework based on Alexander Wendt’s constructivist works as well as David Lake’s works on hierarchy in international relations. This article concludes that Russia has accepted the fact that the Baltic states were not willing to enter into a hierarchical relationship and that Russia recognizes the Baltic states as independent neighbours. While this does not improve the energy security...

Geopolitics and the Northern Sea Route

Experimental transit voyages along the Northern Sea Route to the north of Russia are breaking new ground each year and the route is already significant for the export of raw materials from Russian ports. National and corporate interests are now driving Russia's Arctic policy, rather than, as formerly, an exclusive focus on security, and the Russian government has ambitious plans for the development of the route. Future regular transit of the Northern Sea Route between Europe and Asia, at present facing serious obstacles, could be accelerated not only by climate change, but by overload on, or interruptions to, the existing route through the Suez Canal, which passes through some of the world's most volatile regions. Despite the formidable impediments to regular year round transit of the Northern Sea Route, governments of the non-Arctic states with most at stake, particularly Germany and China, appear to be taking no chances, and to be jockeying for influence in the Arctic region. The interests of the non-Arctic trading states, and of the European Union, more inclined to view the Arctic Ocean as part of the ‘common heritage of mankind’, are however potentially different from those of Russia, and indeed of Canada in respect of the North East passage, both determined to maintain their exclusive national jurisdiction over emerging sea lanes through their territorial waters. Great issues are at stake here. The emergence of new sea lanes has historically impacted heavily on the international balance of power. Where the merchant fleets go, navies will shortly follow.

Diaspora entrepreneurship revisited: Greek merchants and firms in the southern Russian ports

Résumé Fondé sur des sources nouvelles puisées dans les archives russes et ukrainiennes, cet article reprend la question des capacités d’action des entrepreneurs grecs en Russie du Sud et s’efforce de modifier et enrichir les précédents cadres théoriques. Il contribue au débat théorique sur le succès entrepreneurial des grandes sociétés grecques d’import-export basées à Odessa dans la première moitié du XIX e siècle. Il enquête sur les avantages concurrentiels du patronat familial grec de la région de la mer d’Azov et met en évidence quelques-unes de ses caractéristiques : proximité spatiale, mobilité géographique, adaptabilité grâce à la diversification. La persistance des firmes familiales grecques de la mer d’Azov et leurs fréquents résultats favorables durant une longue période sont dues à une conjonction de ressources et de capacités qui étaient à la disposition des firmes et que les entreprises grecques ont su exploiter. Ces types de ressources, incluant des actifs aussi bien physiques qu’intangibles, ont compensé la taille moyenne des firmes et la modestie des capitaux disponibles.

Hydrobiological studies of the ballast waters of cargo ships in Russian Sea ports

The results of the first studies on the ballast waters of commercial vessels in Novorossiysk and Vladivostok ports are presented. Data on the composition of the flora and fauna, their abundance, viability, and the origin of the species were obtained. In the zooplankton from the ballast waters sampled in the Novorossiysk port, 31 species of holoplankton and 15 species of meroplankton were found. The total number of zooplankton varied from 1.3 to 60 thousand ind./m3. The Mediterranean basin, providing 62% of the ballast waters, represents a vector of the greatest risk. In the port of Vladivostok, in the ballast waters of the vessels of the Russian-Japanese and Russian-Chinese lines, 45 species of microalgae, 24 species of zooplankton, 22 species of meroplankton, and 10 groups of meiofauna were revealed. In addition, 24 species of microscopic filamentous fungi were identified and 28 morphologically distinguishable strains of bacteria were isolated (in total not less than 153 species). The basic “groups of risk” for bioinvasions in the basins of the Black Sea and the seas of the Far East were revealed. The need for control of ships’ ballast waters in Russia, which is presently lacking relevant national methodical guidelines and legislation, is substantiated.

Fisheries Management in Post-Soviet Russia: Legislation, Principles, and Structure

This article reviews the legislation, principles, and structure of Russian fisheries management since the break-up of the Soviet Union. The creation and implementation of Russian fisheries legislation has been slow and fumbling, and the structure of fisheries management in flux. One reason for this is the ideological gap between the federal bodies involved in the regulation of the fisheries. The State Committee for Fisheries defended the “traditional” fishery values, such as the continued supply of fish to Russian ports, while others were more concerned with revenues. A reorganization in 2004 split the State Committee for Fisheries into three agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture.

Foreign Ships in Vulnerable Waters: Coastal Jurisdiction over Vessel-Source Pollution with Special Reference to the Baltic Sea

Protection and preservation of the marine environment is a topical issue around the Baltic Sea. Not least does it refer to vessel-source pollution. The Baltic Sea is a particularly vulnerable sea area with its narrow waters, often severe climatic conditions, and growing tanker traffic, especially to and from Russian ports at the far end of the Gulf of Finland. By way of example, oil transports in the Gulf of Finland tripled in 1995 to 2003, recently reaching to some 78 million tons a year.

The Entry of the Ottoman Empire into World War I

This article clarifies several points related to the Ottoman entry into the First World War. First, the Young Turk leaders mistrusted deeply Great Britain which had occupied Egypt in 1882, and appeared disposed to satisfy French and Italian ambitions at the Ottoman expense. Yet, most of the Unionists, not to speak of the public and Parliament, were opposed to war. Indeed, the British and French tacitly agreed to divide the Ottoman state. For this reason, Cemal paşa, a friend of the French, even tried to conclude an alliance with Paris but was unsuccesful. Second, the decision to enter the war came as the consequence of stiff German pressure upon the Unionists leadership and became immediately a fact after the fleet under admiral Souchon's command bombarded the Russian ports. Only four Unionist leaders at most were informed about the German plans to attack Russia. Leading Ottoman officials such as Kazım Karabekir, Hafız Hakkı and many others were against early Ottoman entry into the war. Most of them wanted to wait until spring so as to have time to complete the necessary preparations for the battlefield. Probably, if the Ottoman entry into the war had been postponed for six months or so, Istanbul would have not entered the war at all since by then the hopes for a quick German victory would have vanished. Indeed, after the German offensive in France was stalled at Marne the Unionists seemed to develop second thoughts about the wisdom of fighting on Berlin's side. Consequently, the German diplomatic mission in İstanbul increased its pressures on Enver paşa, who acceded to Kaiser's war demands, still under the illusion that a German victory was imminent. In sum, the Ottoman entry into the war was not the consequence of careful preparation and long debate in the Parliament (which was recessed) and press. It was the result of a hasty decision by a handful of elitist leaders who disregarded democratic procedures and lacked long range political vision and fell easy victim to German machinations and their own utopian expectations of recovering the lost territories in the Balkans. The Ottoman entry into war prolonged it for two years and allowed the Bolshevik revolution to incubate and then explode in 1917 which in turn impacted profoundly the twentieth century world history and the Republican Turkey.

Natural gas markets and the creation of an export gas pipeline system in Eastern Russia

The world natural gas markets are analysed, with a special focus on the countries of Northeast Asia (NEA). The natural gas demands of China, Japan and South Korea, until the year 2020, is projected, considering a possible share of Russian gas. The resource potential of natural gas from the Siberian platform and the Sakhalin shelf is given as a sound basis for fuelling Russia's position in the natural gas market of NEA countries. Development of the powerful gas industry in the East of Russia faces some particular conditions that can decrease the effectiveness of investments. The eastern geopolitical direction is very important for Russia and the necessity to create a favourable political and economic environment for oil and gas export is of prime interest, as stressed in Energy Strategy for Russia till the Year 2020. In this context, the long-term market for natural gas in East Siberia and the Far East of Russia is investigated. Possible routes of natural gas export from Russia to NEA countries include three main directions: to the west of China with connection to the "West-East gas pipeline", a route through and/or round Mongolia and, finally, a route along the Trans-Siberian or Baikal-Amur railroads to Russian ports in the Far East. As a result of complex studies, three stages in the creation of the unified gas pipeline system are suggested. Evaluation of the investments required for construction of such a natural gas pipeline system, expected gas volumes and prices on the markets show its high economic efficiency. In conclusion, the most valuable ideas are stressed.

Russian Port-Projects in the Baltic Sea: A Brief Analysis of Russian Ports and Projected Ports in the Baltic Sea Fringe

With its present borders, Russia faces severe limitations in port capacity in relation to the demand of the domestic industry and raw material producers. The Baltic states possess, on the other hand, a port capacity that vastly exceeds local demand and continues to attract large volumes of Russian transit cargo. In this paper, existing Russian ports on the Baltic Sea are described along with a number of proposed port projects in the Gulf of Finland. Future large scale development of new Russian port capacity has long been considered unlikely, but political changes and rising oil prices have much increased the likelihood of one, or several, of these projects being realised. Probably, however, these projects are still not feasible from an economic point of view, and Russia will have to largely depend upon the port-sector of the Baltic states.

Tsarist Russia and the World Wheat Market

Russian grain trade, production, and consumption during the Tsarist period (1861–1914) is empirically evaluated. Russia was the world's largest wheat exporter during this period. Tsarist Russian agriculture is often characterized in the literature as having been “backward” and not well-integrated with international markets. In contrast to this view, this analysis finds that the Russian grain trade was significantly influenced by international prices and was well-integrated with the international commercial wheat trade. Our results indicate that after 1880 regional wheat markets in Russia were linked and that a strong connection had been established between Russian ports and cities at the center of the world wheat trade. Deviations from equilibrium price relationships were found to be eliminated more rapidly for trade between Odessa and England than for wheat trade between New York and England. In addition, grain trade is shown to have been positively influenced by the development of the rail system.