The construction of a deepwater berth at the NUTEP terminal in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk will allow Russia to offer regular year-round ice-free calls for vessels up to 10,000 TEU for the first time.

NUTEP, a subsidiary of DeloPorts and sister company to multimodal transport specialist Ruscon, is already the largest container terminal in the port but currently handles most deep-sea cargo via transshipment at Istanbul or Piraeus.

“The new deepwater quay will alter the status quo on the Black Sea and change existing supply chain networks in the region,” said Konstantin Kalugin, chief commercial officer of NUTEP. “It will reduce both shipping and terminal costs for clients and increase delivery speed by four to 12 days for cargo headed for Russia.”

The first piles have been driven for the new 1,100-foot quay after two years of planning and approvals, with completion scheduled for late 2018. The berth depth of 51 feet, compared with two berths of 40 feet today, will increase the load line to 1,050 feet from 886 feet.  This will allow 8,000- to 10,000-TEU container ships to make regular calls to the Russian port for the first time.

The 65-acre NUTEP terminal, already the best equipped in the region, will double in capacity to handle 700,000 TEU per annum as part of the project.

DeloPorts also owns and operates a grain terminal and a bunkering services company in Novorossiysk. Like NUTEP, the facilities have a technologically advanced infrastructure with equipment from leading manufacturers.

A DeloPorts spokesman says the NUTEP expansion project is an integral part of the company’s strategy to develop the stevedoring assets of the group. “We are investing in our facilities,” he said, “to ensure we can continue to offer our customers exactly what they need: fast, reliable and cost-effective services.”