The Murmansk region has a special strategic status for Russia. Geographical location defined the Kola Peninsula as a priority element in ensuring the geopolitical interests of Russia in the north of Europe and the Arctic. Its non-freezing deep-water the Kola Bay became the main base of the Northern Fleet, and Murmansk sea port became the center of industrial fishing in the Barents Sea and the North Atlantic, and the starting point of the Arctic.
Today, Murmansk is the only port in European Russia with an open access to major oceanic routes. Port of Murmansk has direct access to the Northern Sea Route, that links the Atlantic to the Pacific through the arctic waters and provides access to natural resources of the Far North, Siberia and the Far East.
The Murmansk region located at the junction of transnational routes and having reliable sea, railway, road and air links with industrial Russian regions can surely be called a northern gateway of Russia.
Port infrastructure
The main port of the region is the sea port of Murmansk located in the Kola Bay. It is also the key port of the Arctic Basin in terms of transporting goods to the Far North and far abroad. The port of Murmansk has all the necessary infrastructure for receiving, servicing and repairing vessels. It is a base for the Russian shipping companies, the emergency and rescue fleet and the unique nuclear icebreakers fleet providing pilotage along the Northern Sea Route.
The Murmansk seaport is among 5 biggest Russian ports in terms of cargo transshipment, and is the only Russian port capable of receiving vessels of up to 300 thousand tones deadweight any time of the year due to non-freezing deep water area of Kola Bay. Cargoes being transshipped in the port of Murmansk include bulk, general cargoes, liquid cargoes as well as containers, fish and fish products. Total cargo turnover in 2022 was 56.28 million tones.
Liquid cargoes prevail in the overall amount of transshipped goods. Prevailing among the dry goods coal is handled in terminals of AO Murmansk Commercial Seaport, the biggest stevedore company of the Murmansk region. The company also successfully handles iron-ore concentrates, non-ferrous metals, manganese ore, containers and other cargoes.
The port of Kandalaksha is located in the southern part of the Kola Peninsula in the water area of Kandalaksha Bay. The port of Kandalaksha specializes in transshipment of bulk and general cargoes. Total cargo turnover in 2022 was 1.62 thousand tones.
Development of the Murmansk transport hub
The project of Complex development of the Murmansk transport hub is the main transport infrastructure development project in the region. The project is being implemented in accordance with the Transport Strategy of the Russian Federation until 2030 with a forecast for the period up to 2035, the federal project Seaports of Russia as part of a comprehensive plan for the modernization and expansion of the main infrastructure for the period up to 2024, in accordance with the state program of the Russian Federation Development of the transport system in order to increase competitiveness and further development of regional transport infrastructure.
Once the project implementation is fulfilled a year-round deep-water marine hub will be created for handling of liquid cargoes, transshipment of coal and mineral fertilizers. It will be integrated into the North-South and West-East international transport corridor. The project aims at development of the water area of Kola Bay, sea, railway and road transport infrastructure as well as logistics and warehouse infrastructure. The project implies construction of a new railway and a cargo terminals on the western shore of Kola Bay.
The project is being implemented on a basis of public-private partnership. The state funds the construction of an auxiliary utility infrastructure for investment projects to be implemented by private investors. The project, when implemented, will increase the Murmansk port cargo turnover up to 80 million tones.
The Northern Sea Route
The Northern Sea Route is the backbone of the Russian Arctic transport system. It ensures economic integration of the Arctic territories both with other parts of Russia and with foreign countries, provides access to major hydrocarbons deposits and marine bio resources of the Arctic zone as well as to other strategic raw materials.
The powerful nuclear icebreakers fleet enables usage of the Northern Sea Route for transnational transit between the Western part of Russia and the Asia-Pacific region (China) and its integration into the global transport system as an independent Eurasian transport corridor with year-round transport of export cargoes.
FSUE Atomflot serving a base of an integrated icebreaker complex of the Russian Federation civil nuclear fleet provides icebreaker pilotage for vessels along the Northern Sea Route, exploration, scientific and research activities in the Arctic seas and emergency and rescue operations. Currently new icebreakers of 22220 project are being constructed.
Murmansk transport branch of PAO MMC Norilsk Nickel has successfully implemented a project on building a series of reinforced ice-class vessels for transporting cargoes along the Northern Sea Route without icebreaker pilotage which contributed to efficient handling of cargoes of Norilsk Nickel. It has its own fleet to ensure year-round regular transport connection between the seaports of Dudinka, Murmansk, Archangelsk.
Passenger transport infrastructure
The general railway transport is a key element of the regional transport system. It takes up a considerable share in the transportation of passengers and goods. Total length of railway network in the Murmansk region is about 870 kilometers.
Automobile transport plays an important role in passenger transport connections between the Murmansk region and the central parts of Russia. The length of federal, regional and local public roads in the Murmansk region is over 3.5 thousand km. There are three international automobiles border checkpoints in the Murmansk region: Borisoglebsk, Lotta and Salla.
Considering that the Murmansk region is remote from the central parts of Russia, air transport is of particular importance for passenger transportation.There are two airports on the Kola peninsula providing services for passenger transportation, handling of aircrafts, luggage, post and cargoes:Murmansk international airport and Apatity aeroport (with passenger traffic in 2022 of 1299088 people and 148011 people correspondingly). The border checkpoint enables the airport of Murmansk to provide international flights.
In order to develop necessary infrastructure for receiving and servicing cruise ships and ferries entering the port, pier of the Murmansk seaport was reconstructed in 2015 and passenger terminal was renovated in 2016. It is planned to provide the passenger terminal with border checkpoint.
