Russian Port

Bunker Suppliers Keep Going in Russian Deep Freeze

The extreme weather now gripping the Eastern Baltic region is badly affecting all transport sectors, and bunker suppliers in the Russian port of St Petersburg are being hit as hard everybody else. Nevertheless vessels are still being supplied with fuel despite North West Russia's worst winter for 50 years, according to leading St Petersburg bunker company ECO Phoenix Holding. The very cold weather began in late December when night-time temperatures went as low as minus 33 degrees C. The Gulf of Finland has been covered with thick ice. Between St Petersburg and Gotland the Baltic is covered with sheet ice 19 in. to 47 in. thick. To the west of Gotland there is drifting ice 7 in. to 17 in.thick. St. Petersburg is being kept open thanks to the efforts of a fleet of icebreakers. Within the port area icing is much more severe than normal with areas of accumulated broken ice over .5 in. thick in places. The unusually severe weather makes it very difficult to bunker vessels in St Petersburg. Nevertheless ECO Phoenix's deputy general manager Dmitry Ivanov says: "We are still making supplies to vessels but of course volumes are down because of the considerable problems we face every time we send out a bunker tanker to a ship in the port. It is impossible for us to get to a vessel without the assistance of harbour tugs which are difficult to hire because they are being kept busy assisting vessels departing and arriving."

Ship Distressed in Sea of Japan

Reports indicate that Motor ship Diana that sent distress signals from the Sea of Japan has about 4,000 tons of cargo aboard. The ship, which flies the Cambodian flag and has an 18-strong Russian crew, has scrap metal in the holds and timber on the deck. The piles of timber have shifted and are partly hanging overboard, said Konstantin Sviridov, the chief of Maritime Salvage and Coordination Center in Vladivostok.

Backing for NEVA 2011 Gathers Pace

Support for NEVA 2011, the international maritime conference and exhibition taking place in St. Petersburg between September 20th and 23rd this year, has gathered momentum both within Russia and internationally in recent weeks. Rod Keay, managing director of Dolphin Exhibitions, the event organiser, says: “Support in Russia, and the CIS as well, has grown exponentially since the beginning of the year.” The event, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year

GAC Steers STS Pallada on Commemorative Voyage

Port-on-Demand took care of training tall ship at every port of call.   Port-on-Demand (POD), the newest service package offered by the global GAC network, has handled the tall ship STS Pallada at every port of call of her voyage to mark the 270th anniversary of Russia’s first settlements in North America and the 50th anniversary of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s first space flight. The impressive 358-foot Russian frigate

Russian Port Plan Opposed by Gazprom

Russian gas giant and licenseholder of the Shtokman field does not want the establishment of a free economic port zone in Murmansk Barents Observer reports that Murmansk might not achieve its much-desired Special Economic Port Zone goal, after all. Regional authorities in Murmansk have worked hard for the establishment of a free economic port zone, planned as a key element in the region’s bid for new investments and industrial initiatives linked with the upcoming oil and gas boom in

Russian Warship Escorts Gulf of Aden Convoy

Russian Northern Fleet (NF) destroyer 'Vice Admiral Kulakov' escorts a second merchant convoy through the Gulf of Aden in her current anti-piracy mission The convoy consisted of merchant ships flying flags of Malta and Liberia, the NF spokesman Capt 1 Rank Vadim Serga told ITAR-TASS. "Crew of destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov replenished supplies delivered by tanker Ivan Bubnov on May 25. After that, a new convoy will be formed at an assigned point in the Red Sea to be escorted along the

Chang Awarded Honorary Doctorate

Dr Chang Yung-fa, Group Chairman of the Evergreen Group, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Transport and the title Honorary Academician by the Russian Academy of Transport. Dr Chang Yung-fa, Group Chairman of the Evergreen Group, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Transport and the title Honorary Academician by the Russian Academy of Transport in recognition of his contributions and innovations in international transportation and his dedication to maritime education

Russian Type Approval for SVDR

Kelvin Hughes Ltd. achieved Type Approval Certification from “Russian Maritime Register of Shipping” and “Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation” for MantaDigital Simplified Voyage Data Recorder – SVDR. Interest has increased in the SVDR and the comprehensive options offered by Kelvin Hughes. Fixed installation costs and extensive replay facilities support the offering of both fixed and float-free data capsules

Indonesian Navy to Purchase Six Russian Subs

According to the AP, the Indonesian Navy will purchase six modern diesel submarines from Russia as part of an upgrading of its aging military arsenal, the state news agency reported Thursday. Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Slamet Soebijanto told Antara the military will buy four Kilo class and two Amur 950, Lada class, Russian submarines. No financial details were disclosed. The Russian submarines, equipped with missiles, torpedoes, and anti-mine systems

Navy Tanker, Not Warship, near Syria Says Moscow

Russia denies media reports of warship off Syria Coast As tensions around Syria escalate, media reports said a Russian warship with marines onboard had arrived off the Syrian coast, although Russia, an ally of President Bashar al-Assad, denied the reports, but a senior member of the European parliament demanded an inquiry into the allegations. The Russian Defense Ministry said one of its tankers, Iman, had arrived off the Syrian coast for technical reasons and its civilian crew was