February 13 - North-Western Shipping Company's (NWSC) cargo volumes fell by 13 percent year-on-year in 2014 to 5.6 million tonnes.
NWSC put the volume reduction down to a number of internal and external factors, including the lack of water during the navigation period of Russia's inland waterways, and the general economic situation in the European and Russian markets.
Moreover, said NWSC, the size of its shipping fleet was reduced from 71 to 57 in 2014, with old vessels being removed from service.
While exports made up 57 percent of NWSC's annual volume, imports made up only 9 percent and fell by 38 percent year-on-year in 2014 to 0.5 million tonnes, which the company attributed to the reduction in freight traffic from Europe to Russia.
Despite the fall in volume, NWSC's inland transportations increased by 56 percent in 2014 compared with the previous year. More than 50,000 tonnes of cargo was transported for oil and gas production fields in the far north of Russia, explained the company.
