Significant Growth in Kaliningrad’s Maritime Cargo Transport in 2024
The volume of cargo transported to and from the Kaliningrad region by sea exceeded 6,7 million tons in the first eight months of 2024, marking a 9,8 % increase compared to the same period in 2023. This information was reported by the region’s governor, Alexey Besprozvannykh, to TASS.
Currently, approximately 27 vessels operate on the maritime route between the Kaliningrad region and mainland Russia. This number fluctuates as ships periodically undergo repairs. In total, over 6,7 million tons of cargo were processed by the region’s port complex in the first eight months of this year, which is a 9,8 % increase compared to the same period in 2023, according to Alexey Besprozvannykh.
The governor also mentioned that the port complex processed just over 8,2 million tons of cargo in all of 2022 and more than 9,2 million tons in 2023. Alongside the increase in cargo transport by sea, there has been a decline in the amount of cargo arriving in the region by rail. In 2022, more than 10,2 million tons were transported this way, which decreased to 8,082 million tons in 2023, and only 4,4 million tons in the first eight months of 2024, representing a 20 % drop compared to the same period in 2023.
Alexey Besprozvannykh emphasized the importance of subsidizing maritime transport to the region.
“In the current conditions, it is critically important for us that these subsidies remain uninterrupted. This condition for the transport accessibility of the Kaliningrad region was discussed at a meeting with the president, and we received the necessary support from him,” he stated.
According to the regional leader, in 2024, the Russian Maritime Agency has allocated 1,4 billion rubles from the reserve fund of the Russian government to subsidize maritime transport to and from the Kaliningrad region. An additional 1,4 billion rubles have been allocated for these purposes through the redistribution of federal budget funds by the Ministry of Transport of Russia from other activities.