Page 27 - Журнал Sozvezdye Review - «СОЗВЕЗДИЕ» #42

conditions are similar to those in seaports of the Gulf
A little bit of history of Finland including Saint Petersburg.
In 1915, contracted by Arkhangelsk boasts one more advantage – the car-
the Russian Empire’s Min- rying capacity of its railway. Unlike many east- and
istry of Trade and Indus- south-bound railways with limited capacity, this city
try, the Merchant Ports has a profound store of potential to add as many trains
Department competed a and needed and within short timelines.
series of surveys in the es- Electric power runs all the way
tuary waters of the North- to Obozerskaya station. From there,
ern Dvina River, guided the line runs for another 119 km to Необходимое условие
by engineer V. E. Lyakh- Isakogorka (the first station within полномасштабного развития
nitsky. The three-year-long Arkhangelsk transport hub). This контейнерных линий –
work produced a legacy of section once had the capacity for
lengthy reports, their main conclusion being twenty trains in each direction per достаточные глубины для
that the outside harbor should be based “on day. Restoring this capacity sounds захода крупнотоннажных
the shore of the Dvinsky Bay near the village a much easier option than laying a контейнеровозов
of Kuy”. new rail connection, and it can be
Since then, there have been no major done quickly. Do port railway sta- For the container lines to reach
changes in the hydrological regime of the tions have enough orders? No. And their full potential, they need to
Northern Dvina River estuary, for it received because the shortage is faced by all
no dams or related installations. Therefore, the ports without exception, it is es- have sufficient depths allowing
surveys of that year are still relevant. sential that a coordination plat- for the entry of large-capacity
The reports by those early engineer teams form is set up for players to be able container ships
contain the rationales and cost-efficiency cal- to achieve better performance and
culations: “Compared to other locations in the tackle peak loads within the trans-
White Sea, the estuary of the Dvina River is a port hub. The growing traffic vol-
cheaper option and, most importantly, offers umes call for more cost-effective digital solutions.
shortest construction timeline.”
Those surveys and conclusions were con- Ships need a local repairs provider
ducted and made at the time when Russia was
involved in World War I. The rationale for The shipping operations have increased several fold
the projected deep water used as arguments in the western sector of the Russia Arctic over the past
the following: “Identifying best location and few years. The ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk are
equipment for the northern port must be ap- almost equal in terms of ship call statistics. Despite the
proached with forward-thinking attitude. As sanctions, the Arctic development agenda continues to
was shown by the war, Arkhangelsk is a port be implemented, with shipping volume expected to in-
of national importance. No spending on its de- crease with years. To spare the Arctic-going ships the
velopment is excessive. Even if unprofitable in time required for reaching dedicated docks, they need
peacetime, this port will pay for itself with- to be serviced where they operate. The new-era Arc-
in one navigation season in the time of need.” tic fleet consists of large- and medium-tonnage vessels.
To accommodate them, docks need to have sufficient
depths. The would-be deep water area has capacity for
docks suitable for any type of vessels.
All things considered, the seawater area under con-
sideration, which lies 50 kilometers away from Arkhan-
gelsk, offers sufficiently deep naturally occurring depths
and easiest of ice conditions to be found in the White
Sea. Arkhangelsk, being the Russian Arctic’s largest in-
dustrial city, offers a developed road and railway infra-
structure, skilled labor and engineering personnel. In
the context of increasing Russo-African trade relations,
there is every reason to believe that this outside harbor
will enjoy sufficient cargo turnover fueled by the in-
creasing west- and east-bound container traffic.