Russia’s Port of St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg is Russia’s second-largest city, the nation’s marine capital, and the gateway to Russia for Europe. The former capital of Russia, which proudly stands at the mouth of Neva on the east coast of the Gulf of Finland, is home to more than 5 million people and one of the country’s most important financial, industrial, and cultural hubs.

The city’s GRP as of 2016 was 3,742 billion rubles. Considering St. Petersburg’s strategic importance, the city receives substantial international investment — it amounted to around $1.16 billion in Q1 of 2020.

St. Petersburg is served by an extensive system of city-funded municipal transportation, Pulkovo international airport and 3 smaller suburban airports, intercity and suburban railways, passenger and cargo seaport, and the federal highways.

Built on the web of islands, crisscrossed by 65 canals and rivers, St. Petersburg’s fantastical splendor is equaled only by its rich history.

Port History

Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia, founded St. Petersburg in 1703. Tsar’s goal was to “hack a window to Europe,” which entailed not just building a port on the Baltic Sea and laying the groundwork for the imperial navy, but establishing a European city that lived by the western standards, as any Russian study book will tell you.

The history of St. Petersburg’s Port is inseparably intertwined with the history of the city. The construction of a new capital became one of the most expensive of Tsar Peter’s many initiatives. Development of the city and port claimed the lives of approximately 40,000 people. St. Petersburg was dubbed “heaven” by Peter, yet it became a cemetery for many.

During the 18th and 19th centuries development of the Port continued. The opening of the 29.6 km (16 miles) Marine Canal in 1885 marked the next major turning point in the Port’s history, allowing it to take vessels with larger drafts.

The civil war that erupted in the aftermath of the 1917 Russian Revolution devastated the Port’s economy, with the city’s population plummeting. The Port of St. Petersburg bore a large share of the development load in the Soviet’s five-year plans. By 1939, it accounted for 11% of total industrial output in the country.

Thousands of people were killed and the Port’s infrastructure was seriously damaged during a 900-day Nazi military blockade of the city during WWII. The city did not surrender. Leningrad— as St. Petersburg was once called—was quickly rebuilt once the siege was lifted, and its population gradually grew to return to the pre-seige level. Against all odds, St. Petersburg’s Port was able to quickly recover and rebuild as well.

The Port was not only restored, but modernized to the highest post-war standards. It was at that time that the Port gained the title of a multifunctional complex due to its capability of processing a great many kinds of cargo.

In the post-Soviet period, St. Petersburg underwent a substantial renovation, with the opening of new cafés and restaurants, the illumination of bridges and landmarks. The Port experienced a drastic overhaul as well. The government transferred significant funds to upgrade the aging cargo terminals and infrastructure. The major portion of the funds was allocated to replace the cargo handling equipment, maximize port productivity, and complete terminal automation. The Sea Port of Saint-Petersburg OJSC was established on December 8, 1992. The Port went from being government-owned to private as a result of the privatization.

General Description and Contact Info

Рort Location: St. Petersburg, Russia

UN/LOCODЕ: RULED

Longitude: 30° 13′ 48″ E

Latitude: 59° 55′ 38″ N

Сorporate Officе: 10 Gapsalskaya St., St. Petersburg 198035, Russia

Web Site: www.pasp.ru

Email: public@mail.pasp.ru

Рhone: 7 812 718 8951

Port Commerce: Business Profile, Operations, Size, Capacity, Turnover

The Port of St. Petersburg is located in extreme Russia’s northwest, off the Baltic Sea’s Gulf of Finland coast, on the islands of the Neva Delta.

The Port of St. Petersburg has a total water area of around 164.6 sq. km (63,552 sq. miles). It comprises about 200 berths with a mooring line extending along approx. 31 km (19.3 miles). The Port is open for business year long, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm on weekdays and non-holidays. Strong winds can cause fluctuations in water levels—between 1 to 4 m (3.3 to 13.1 ft). Neva freezes in mid-November and then thaws out in April. Icebreakers perform pilotage services during the winter. The moderating influence of the Baltic has blessed the city with a milder climate, with a January temperature of around -6 °C. Summers are relatively warm, 18°C in July.

In 2008, UCL Holding B.V. purchased the shares of The Sea Port of Saint-Petersburg OJSC and three stevedoring companies. In 2014, the company’s legal name was changed to The Sea Port of St. Petersburg JSC. Since 2011, The Port Authority of the Big Port of St. Petersburg, a federal government agency, has been overseeing the port’s operations and commercial navigation. St. Petersburg’s Port leases terminals, warehouses, and piers to 25 stevedoring businesses that are licensed to handle and undertake cargo operations. CREDO TRANS is among the businesses licensed to handle cargo operations at the Port’s facilities.

St. Petersburg’s Port has a fleet of over 470 vessels, including 66 tankers, 13 icebreakers, 122 tugs, as well as oil harvesters, raid boats, water cannons, pilot boats, fireboats. The Port permits vessels with a length of up to 320 m (nearly 1,000 ft), a width of up to 42 m (137.8 ft), and a draft of up to 11 m (36.1 ft).

In 2018, the Port of Saint-Petersburg handled 7.7 mln tons of cargo, a 12 percent increase over the previous year’s numbers. The establishment of yards specialized in the transshipment of containers, metal scrap, cast iron, mineral fertilizers, and ore contributed to the increase in cargo flow. A new type of cargo for the Port—cast iron—fueled the rise of ferrous metal transshipment (179,000 tons throughout the reporting period).

St. Petersburg’s cruise is the crown jewel port of call for most Baltic cruise customers. Most of the cruise ships dock at the modern Marine Façade Complex, located 5 km NW of the city center.

Advantages of Shipping with the Port of St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg is advantageously located on the crossroads of the major sea routes and inland roads. This is Russia’s strategic center, its gateway to Europe, and the city closest to the EU countries. St. Petersburg’s Port is a major sea trade and shipping hub, allowing commerce with Scandinavia, Europe, and beyond.

St. Petersburg serves as the start or endpoint for several international trade corridors. It will be a key destination for the projected Russia-India North-South Corridor and for expanding the WE-WC (Western Europe-Western China) International Expressway.

St. Petersburg’s Port serves as a major trading hub as well as a center of manufacturing and finance. City’s important economic sectors include aerospace, shipbuilding, engineering, oil and gas trade, software, electronics, and computer manufacturing. The city produces heavy machinery, transport equipment, mining equipment, aluminum alloys, military supplies, chemicals, medical equipment, textiles, and pharmaceuticals.

St. Petersburg’s Port is one of Russia’s busiest, handling 20% of all freight entering and leaving the country. Port’s container terminal is 65 ha in size, with a draught of 11.0 m, 0.3 m moves (0.5 m TEUs) of installed capacity, 479 m of quay length, 4,500 TEUs of maximum vessel size, and equipped with 4 quay cranes.

Prices, Fees, and Tariffs at the Port of St. Petersburg

The list of tariffs, rates, and harbor fees in Russia’s seaports, including in the Port of St. Petersburg, is approved, reviewed, and updated by the Ministry of Transport of Russia.

Freight rates paid by freight forwarders at St. Petersburg’s Port are determined by a number of factors, including shipping distance, urgency, the total size of products, cargo classification, and temperature requirements.

For current foreign and coastal shipping rates incl. navigation dues, canal dues, lighthouse dues, pilotage dues, ecological dues, ice-breaking dues, investment dues at the Port of St. Petersburg, visit https://www.rosmorport.com/filials/spb_portcharges/, the official website for Rosmorport, the Russian Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport.

If you want to efficiently cut shipping costs while enhancing overall operational productivity in Russia, particularly in the Port of St. Petersburg, get negotiation advice from CREDO TRANS.

Top Shipping Routes To/From the Port of St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg is connected to ports all around the world by 24 shipping lines including ports of Europe, The United States, Malaysia, Vietnam, Turkey, China etc.

Currently, the top 5 routes to ship containerized cargo to/from Saint Petersburg are as follows: St. Petersburg – Bilbao, St. Petersburg – Madrid, St. Petersburg – Miami, St. Petersburg – New York, St. Petersburg – Valencia.

When it comes to shipping to/from the US, the route New York – St. Petersburg takes the longest to send a container to/from St. Petersburg (45 days on average). The route Jacksonville – St. Petersburg is the fastest. Dallas – St. Petersburg, which takes 4 days on average, is the shortest route.

Strong highway connections contribute greatly to the St. Petersburg Port’s success as an important logistics hub. St. Petersburg is served by major federal highways, including M10 Scandinavia, a highway connecting St. Petersburg and Moscow, and continuing to the border with Finland, M11 Narva, a highway connecting St. Petersburg with the Estonian border, M18 Kola, a highway connecting St. Petersburg, Petrozavodsk, and Murmansk, and M20, connecting St. Petersburg with Pskov and continuing to the border with Belarus. The M10 and M20 federal highways form sections of the Pan-European Corridor IX.

Top Reasons to Choose CREDO TRANS for Transport and Logistics at the Port of St. Petersburg

Since its inception in 2008, CREDO TRANS has been a leading sea freight transport operator. Trust our freight shipping experts who use their deep expertise of freight services to deliver meaningful improvements for your business.

For the past 13 years, CREDO TRANS has been instrumental in linking Russian businesses with global markets and making supply chains customer-centric. CREDO TRANS believes that the Port of St. Petersburg has a lot of economic potential. St. Petersburg ranks among the most important cities in terms of transportation and logistics in Russia’s European side. Our experts strongly advise operators to use the Port of St. Petersburg as a hub for further expansion and success on the Russian market.

Our company collaborates with the world’s major seaports and busiest freight hubs. CREDO TRANS moves sea freight on 57 routes through its representative offices, employing the infrastructure of all terminals at Russia’s busiest ports, including the Port of St. Petersburg. Whether it’s regular, oversized, heavy-lift, or refrigerated cargo, our company has extensive local expertise and a global network of agents to deliver your goods to their destination on time. We meet a wide range of needs related to freight forwarding and customs logistics services, including the transportation of perishable goods in refrigerators through the Port of St. Petersburg, at the most competitive rates. CREDO TRANS’s long-term partnerships with sea line agents at the Port of St. Petersburg give our customers an advantage to get special deals on sea freight transportation to/from the Port. We possess a great deal of experience and knowledge to make the customs clearance process in St. Petersburg smooth for you. Besides, CREDO TRANS provides access to a large fleet of trucks to guarantee time-definite delivery.

The rest of the world is just a short hop away with CREDO TRANS.