River (inland) transport includes the transport of goods and passengers by vessels along inland waterways. This type of transport in the Russian transport system has a large, but currently untapped potential, with a very modest role in the national economy. Despite this, it has a high load capacity, the ability to transport bulky cargo, efficiency and low infrastructure costs.
For quite a long time, river transport played a very important role in the history of our state, it was thanks to it that the development and further development of new territories often took place. Currently, the main advantage of river transport can be considered the low cost of transport compared to alternative options for transporting certain types of goods. In many cases, this factor outweighs the possible negative consequences of using river transport related to low speeds and the seasonal nature of transport.
Depending on the purpose of transport, all water transport can be divided into freight and passengers. Each of these species has individual features and characteristics, so they should be considered separately, not forgetting that it is as a whole that they form a unique system of inland river transport.
River freight transport in Russia was faced with a whole series of new problems at the end of the last century, due to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Thus, in 1989, the volume of river transport amounted to more than 580 million tons. In 2014, the same indicator decreased by 4.6 times, falling to 124.8 million tons. The Russian Federation is an order of magnitude behind European countries in terms of the share of water transport in the total volume of freight transport. For example, in the Netherlands, France and Germany, water transport accounts for more than 10%, while in the Russian Federation this figure for 2016 is less than 1.5%. It is also worth paying attention to the fact that such results are recorded, despite the much lower density of roads and railways in our country compared to European countries. This state of affairs suggests that even in the absence of alternative transport routes, river transport remains unattractive for many transporters.
Among the main factors that determined the sharp decline in the volume of river transport in Russia at the turn of the century, the following can be distinguished:
– Decline in the economic competitiveness of river transport due to the deterioration of inland waterway infrastructure;
– many river routes have simply fallen out of the logistic chains of transport of goods which were formed during the Soviet Union, proving unprofitable or politically unprofitable in a market economy;
– severe wear and tear on the river transport fleet and a deep crisis in the national shipbuilding industry.
A similar situation has developed in river passenger transport, but for somewhat different reasons. Thus, the volume of passenger transport by waterway for the period from 1980 to 2020 decreased by 8 times – from 103 to 11 million people. At present, the potential of river transport for passenger transport is practically not used, for example, in large settlements with inland waterways, but experiencing road transport problems, expressed in traffic congestion, the launch such routes would seem quite efficient. Despite all the negative trends, the role of inland river transport is still quite significant in the regions of Siberia, the Far East and the Far North, where many settlements can only be reached in this way. However, it should be understood that the operation of river transport in these entities directly depends on the amount of funding from regional authorities. There is hardly any way for the companies themselves that organize passenger transport to be profitable without the support of third parties.
Things are a little better with the cruise fleet, which is used for river transport for tourist purposes. Thus, the average age of vessels operating on tourist routes is 41 years. The main benefit in the conditions of a fairly strong isolation of the inhabitants of our country from the world tourist system can be the redirection of domestic travelers from outgoing tourist destinations to domestic ones, which in the future will have a positive impact on companies cruising.
In addition, river passenger transport in Russia is often characterized by a mismatch between the road network and transport demand and a lack of synchronization with other types of passenger transport. Do not forget the deplorable state of many infrastructures (marinas, moorings and piers) which, combined with the high prices of this type of tourism, often drives away many customers.
In February 2016, the country adopted the Strategy for the Development of Inland Water Transport for the period up to 2030, which lost its force in 2021 due to the approval of the Transport Strategy of the Russian Federation until ‘in 2030 with a forecast for the period up to 2035. . Many provisions of the first document have become part of the new strategy; they are aimed at bringing out of stagnation, and sometimes even out of crisis, the entire river transport system of the Russian Federation. It is too early to talk about its results, but some of its provisions seem quite rational.
From the above, it can be concluded that the state must take measures to increase the competitiveness of river transport and try to create as soon as possible economically favorable conditions for the development and commissioning of innovative vehicles. Many experts note that inland waterway transport has quite broad prospects, which are currently far from being fully realized. It should be understood that if cardinal changes do not occur in this sector in the near future, this type of transport may be irretrievably lost, completely disappearing from the transport system of the Russian Federation.
Author: Viktor Anufriev
Read the Latest Government Politics News on The Eastern Herald.
