Federation Council News

On January 19-20, 2017 Novorossiysk Shipping Company (Novoship), a subsidiary of SCF Group, hosted special events dedicated to the company’s 50th anniversary. The anniversary ceremony was attended by Victor Olersky, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, Head of the Federal Marine and River Transport Agency (Rosmorrechflot); Alexey Kondratenko, Member of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation; Evgeniy Moskvichev, Chairman of the State Duma Transport Committee; Alexey Klyavin, President of the Russian Chamber of Shipping; Yury Sukhorukov, President of the Seafarers’ Union of Russia, and Sergey Frank, President & CEO of PAO Sovcomflot. Novorossiysk Shipping Company was officially established on January 20, 1967.

The floating out  of the world’s largest nuclear-powered icebreaker Arktika in Russia’s St. Petersburg shows Russia's ambitions to control the top of the world in the 21st century. The Arktika launched early on June 16, ahead of its original 2017 schedule. Powered by two nuclear reactors, the 568 foot leviathan displaces over 33,000 metric tons of water and can break through ice 10 feet thick and 13 feet deep, according to Sputnik News. With a crew of 75 people, the Arktika will operate in the Western and Eastern Arctic seasonally. Russia is the only country in the world to use nuclear-powered icebreakers. Federation Council speaker Valentina Matvienko said: "It's hard to overestimate what has been done by our scientists, designers and shipbuilders.

The draft law on the development of the Arctic region will be discussed at a joint meeting of the Presidium of the Advisory Council on the Arctic and Antarctic in the Federation Council and the State Commission on the Development of the Arctic November 20. The meeting was held under the leadership of the chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko and Head of the State Commission for the Arctic, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin. The event will discuss a draft concept of the federal law on the development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The parties will also consider the issue of participation of administrative-territorial formations circumpolar regions of Russia in the International Arctic Forum.

The latest oceanographic research vessel "Yantar" has arrived at the base of the Northern Fleet in Murmansk region. This was announced by Head of Press Service of the Federation Council Vadim Serga. "The crew has completed the transition from the Atlantic Ocean to the Kola Bay" - quoted by TASS Sergey. In May of this year, "Amber" was raised by St. Andrew's flag. This was followed by testing of the equipment and facilities the ship in the deep Atlantic. The technical capabilities of "Amber" will help raise hydrographic and research activities of the Northern Fleet in the oceans, especially in the Arctic, to a new level, I'm sure the commander of the Northern Fleet Vladimir Korolev.

Divers Northern Fleet raised from the bottom of the Kola Bay, an American anti-aircraft gun, which lay there for 70 years. Earlier it was reported that the specialists of the search and rescue (UPASR) Northern Fleet (NF) completed the preparatory work in the area of the death of an American military transport ship "Thomas Donaldson" (type "Liberty"). During the Great Patriotic War, the ship participated in the composition of the Arctic convoy JW-65, who drove the Soviet Murmansk under the Lend-Lease ammunition, military equipment and other goods. In March 1945, "Thomas Donaldson" was torpedoed by a German submarine and sank near the entrance to Kola Bay (Barents Sea) at a depth of 60 meters. Diving operations on the vessel began in 2014.

According to a report from the Barents Observer, Vyacheslav Popov, leader of the Commission on National Maritime Policy in the Russian Federation Council, says Russia by year 2020 will need a total of 30 LNG tankers capable of transporting a up to 25 million tons of LNG per year.   Source: Barents Observer

At its general meeting held on September 20, the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS) elected John Foord as the chairman of its Federation Council. ?Naturally I feel most honored to be entrusted with such an important role. I hope to continue the good work of my predecessor, Roy Davies, by raising the profile of our organization. To accomplish this, I am greatly assisted by employer, Johnson Stevens Agencies, who understands the benefits of membership of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers,? Foord says, commenting on his appointment. Seven years at sea launched Foord?s maritime career. He eventually came ashore to join OOCL and then Chen Wang Line as vessel operations manager.

The Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS) has spoken out on behalf of the shipping industry in response to the U.K. government's latest action in the fight against foot and mouth disease. In a letter to Mr. J M Scudamore, chief veterinary officer of The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), the ICS has voiced its concerns over recent instructions that all wheeled vehicles must be sprayed with disinfectant prior to departure from U.K. ports, including those being carried in containers. Whilst the Institute fully supports the efforts of the government in tackling the spread of foot and mouth, it has taken issue with the practicalities of the spraying program.

A UK Short Sea Shipping Bureau is one step closer to becoming a reality, according to the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS). months, the ICS has organised a number of meetings with leading bodies in the UK transport industry including the Chamber of Shipping, Freight Transport Association, BIFA, Road Haulage Association and British ports' groups, all of which have given the bureau their full support. The next step is to secure funding from the UK government. The aim of the bureau is to promote and co-ordinate efforts to encourage greater movement of goods by sea. "Each day, thousands of containers are moved between the north and south of the UK using our already over burdened motorways," says John Foord, chairman of the ICS Federation Council. moved from the road to the sea.

The Russian government will soon adopt a strategy for the development of shipbuilding until 2020, which envisions the creation of three major shipbuilding holdings, the defense minister said Tuesday. The minister said one of the holdings will be set up in Russia's Far East to ensure the development of the shipbuilding industry on the Pacific coast. The upper house of the Russian parliament recently discussed the current crisis in the civilian shipbuilding industry and issued a statement urging the government to adopt a comprehensive strategy to lead the industry out of the current quagmire. Members of the Federation Council stated that…