30 Jun 2022 15:07

Kholmogory dry cargo ship makes first voyage between mainland Russia and Kaliningrad

KALININGRAD. June 30 (Interfax) - The Kholmogory bulk carrier has made its first voyage between the Kaliningrad region and mainland Russia, the region's governor, Anton Alikhanov, said on Telegram.

"Right now, the Kholmogory dry cargo ship, part of our 'sea bridge' to St. Petersburg, is mooring at the Kaliningrad Commercial Seaport," Alikhanov said on Thursday morning.

The ship delivered steel. Its next cargo will be cement.

Alikhanov said earlier that three rail ferries and a ro-ro vessel were already operating on the Baltiisk-Ust-Luga ferry line. The Kholmogory's addition will further improve logistics.

The Kholmogory is part of the Northern Shipping Company fleet and will sail from the port of Bronka in St. Petersburg directly to the Kaliningrad Commercial Seaport, which is located almost in the center of the region's capital. And this will significantly shorten the transport leg. The Kholmogory can carry up to 4,300 tonnes of general cargo or 160 TEU containers. It also has 40 refrigerated cargo sockets.

The vessel can be loaded with various rolled metal products, cargo in big bags, construction equipment, concrete products, oversized and heavy cargo and cargo with hazard classification of 2-6. It is also ready to transport goods to shipped via Russia under the Internal Customs Transit procedure.

Alikhanov said on June 29 that the Russian government had decided to subsidize seaborne cargo deliveries to the Kaliningrad region.

He said First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov had given the Transport Ministry and government two weeks to draft a regulation on aligning the maritime shipping tariff with the 10-01 tariff and an instruction to allocate funds for the subsidies.

"We have already begun this work with colleagues from the Transport Ministry and in two weeks we will report on what stage we are at. I hope that all documents will be published in July and we will start receiving all goods at the price that was before the latest events and sanctions restrictions on Lithuania's part," Alikhanov said.

Lithuania imposed a partial ban on cargo transit to the Kaliningrad region by rail and by truck after EU sanctions went into effect on June 17. Lithuania has limited the transit of steel, other ferrous metals and other sanctioned goods to the Kaliningrad region, indicating that it did this on the basis of clarifications from the European Commission. In response, Moscow claimed that the transit restrictions violated international agreements and threatened retaliation.

Reuters quoted two sources as saying on Wednesday that transit through Lithuania to Kaliningrad could return to normal within days, two sources familiar with the matter said, as European officials move towards a compromise deal with the Baltic state to defuse the row with Moscow.