Daltransugol expands Vanino terminal capacity 37% to 32.8 mln tonnes
VANINO. June 5 (Interfax) - JSC Daltransugol (DTU), a coal terminal at the port of Vanino managed by JSC Port Alliance, has completed a project to expand the terminal's capacity to 32.8 million tonnes per year and construct an access railway line, company CEO Vladimir Dolgopolov told reporters.
"We received official documents yesterday, the commissioning certificate, confirming that the railway [Russian Railways, RZD] has accepted the completed section. The terminal can now handle 32.8 million tonnes, up from 24 million tonnes [up 36.7%]. The terminal is operational this month," Dolgopolov said, adding that full-scale industrial commissioning would occur within "the next month or two."
As reported, DTU is working to expand the terminal's capacity further to 40 million tonnes annually. However, current operations are constrained not by transshipment capacity but by rail infrastructure bottlenecks. In 2024, the terminal shipped only 14.5 million tonnes of coal, down 9% year-on-year. Transshipment rose 43% YoY to 6.8 million tonnes in January-May 2025. A record volume was set in 2020 at 23.2 million tonnes.
"We must increase throughput because the company's investment must yield returns now, and the infrastructure we've built shouldn't sit idle. The coal industry faces challenges today. The 26.5 billion rubles under our agreement with the FEDC [the Far East and Arctic Development Corporation] are borrowed funds, so it's critical for us that RZD boosts freight volumes swiftly, both to repay debt and sustain the business," Dolgopolov said.
The new 600-meter public rail spur now connects RZD's network to the terminal's 11 km of private tracks, he said.
The newly launched rail section, currently in test mode, will eventually enable 40 million tonnes of annual coal transshipment at Daltransugol's terminal, Khabarovsk Territory Governor Dmitry Demeshin said.
"The BAM [Baikal-Amur Mainline] reaches here, to Vanino, and our objective is to develop the railway not just in linear kilometers but also through port infrastructure. We've verified, including during our sea inspection, that the berths are ready to handle bunkering vessels. Our priority is to develop multipurpose terminals," Demeshin told journalists.
After inspecting the infrastructure, Demeshin said there was a need to shorten coal delivery routes by utilizing output from the local mining company, Ugralugol.
"Why haul coal from western Siberia when we're mining it right here in Khabarovsk Territory? We need to reconfigure logistics flows to slash transportation distances for our local coal. That's precisely the challenge I believe your beneficiary must address," he said during a meeting with coal mining company representatives.
He later told journalists that implementing this plan also requires technologically integrating the rail lines with RZD's network.
Daltransugol is one of Russia's largest coal terminals regarding cargo turnover, located in the deep-water Muchke Bay in the Khabarovsk Territory, with access the Trans-Siberian and Baikal-Amur railway lines. Constructed in 2008, the port transships coal to end consumers in China and other Asian countries.
In September 2020, Daltransugol was granted resident status in the Free Port of Vladivostok to implement a project aimed at increasing the terminal's capacity from 24 million to 40 million tonnes per year through the construction of its third phase.
Port Alliance, which was established in March 2024, also includes JSC Murmansk Commercial Seaport , Murmansk Bulker Terminal LLC, Tuapse Bulker Terminal LLC and Maly Port LLC (Nakhodka, Primorye Territory). The company's five terminals have combined capacity to handle over 53 million tonnes of cargo per year. All of these companies were previously part of the National Transport Company.
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