One of the largest-scale plans for the prospective development of the Arkhangelsk port is the construction at the sea proximate terminal of five berths with a planned depth of 9.75m and a total length of 800m, together with the covered storage area of 8,000 m 2 and the open storage area of 80,000 m 2. Rear storage areas can also be used for collecting supply cargo.

Considering that container cargo turnaround has grown sharply worldwide and that the throughput ability of container terminals in Russian ports is limited, opportunities appear to exist for the active operation of container terminal and usage of its storage capacities - 6,000 TEU at one time and transhipment of 75,000 TEU a year.

Ever-growing customer demands to cargo delivery time as well as developing liner and multimodal shipment dictate new terms for ship-owners and transporters. The Northern Shipping Company together with railway-men and JSC Arkhangelsk Sea Commercial Port have implemented the project of special container train on route ‘Arkhangelsk-Moscow-Arkhangelsk’. This project will function parallel with the development and extension of line shipping as scheduled, which is to coordinate the actions of seamen, longshoremen and railway-men. This project development allows to balance cargo import traffic, serving a challenge for the Arkhangelsk port, and to attract new cargo owners. In the early stage two dispatches per months are envisaged, further in prospect this train is supposed to operate weekly.

The port actively engages in dialogue with the Northern and Murmansk Shipping Lines, the Arkhangelsk division of the Northern Railway, the Regional Administration, and Rosmorport with a view to create a transportation scheme for the delivery of equipment and supply cargo to Arctic oil fields, including marine and railway components and ice-breaking support.

Numerous years of work experience with companies Lukoil, Gasprom and Rosneft enables us to successfully resolve issues of reception, integration and dispatch of cargo to oil fields, with high quality and under tight deadlines.

The building of BELKOMUR railway line is of strategic concern for Russia and overwhelmingly important for the Arkhangelsk port development as it forms the northern transportation corridor “Arkhangelsk – Syktyvkar – Kudymkar – Perm”. This will provide the shortest way of Siberian and Ural regions to the ports of Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. Besides, the international transit route will be considerably reduced from the countries of Northern Europe to the Far East and Southeast Asia.

Arkhangelsk Sea Commercial Port appears to be one of the main elements of the project «Northern Sea Corridor», being the interlink between Russia and the areas of North and Norwegian Seas. At present Russia uses Bosporus and Denmark Straits for goods transportation. However in the course of time environmental problems can lead to serious reduction of sea transportation via these routes. Accordingly, the significance of transportation via the Barents Sea and northern sea corridor is to grow.

For the last 2-3 years the Arkhangelsk port has reached dynamic development in many directions. At present the main cargo traffic heads from Europe for Arkhangelsk region, Central Russia and Kazakstan. The largest traffic of export cargo handled at the port is destined from Arkhangelsk region, Ural, Komi and Siberia to Germany, the Netherlands, North America and Canada. Cargo dispatch to Harasaway was resumed; the volume of cargo deliver у to the points of the White and Barents Seas was much increased.

Like St. Petersburg, the Arkhangelsk Sea Commercial Port possesses the prerequisites for its inclusion into the international transportation corridor North-South. Transit time of transportation is identical to those of Ural, Siberia and the Far East .

One may have a look at the map - it’s easy to see that the shortest route from the Arctic to Moscow lies through Arkhangelsk, because the Northern Railway constitutes the continuation on land of the marine Arctic artery – by which it is possible to reach Moscow in 19 hours from Russia ’s first port. The Arkhangelsk port already possesses experience in transit cargo handling from Scandinavia destined for the countries of the Far East and Central Asia via the Trans-Siberian Railway.

In view of the above, the key factors for prospective development defining the role of the JSC Arkhangelsk Sea Commercial Port in the overall transportation scheme of the North-West remain the preservation and gradual expansion of traditionally prevailing cargo traffic, the development of transit cargo traffic in containers and consolidation of the base port position at the cargo transhipment for Arctic directions.