Russian Seaports: A Course for Developing Transport Corridors to Asian Markets [REPORT]

Russia’s seaports have chosen an Asian destination and are developing services and infrastructure accordingly. Connections with China, India, Arab states, and other Asian countries are being strengthened. In June 2026, Vladmorrybport in Vladivostok launched a new regular container line, the Pacific Bridge Shipping Line. The service connects Vladivostok with the Chinese port of Rizhao in eastern Shandong Province. This is a response to Russia’s continued trade activity with leading Asian partners.

The Russian government has approved a comprehensive infrastructure development plan, which envisages the construction of 17 new sea terminals by 2036. The decree approving the plan was signed on August 29, 2025, and published on September 8, 2025, reports Gabriele Iuvinale on ExtreMaratioNews.com.

The new terminals, which will be built in various ports across the country, will have a combined capacity of over 200 million tons per year. The largest number of terminals – four in 2027 and five in 2028 – will be commissioned between 2027 and 2028. The Far East, in particular, will receive the largest amount of new port capacity.

Investments are quickly paying off thanks to trade with China, India, and European Union countries. The EU spent €7.2 billion on Russian LNG in 2025, maximizing imports before the ban in 2027. From investments in the northern part of the country alone, Russia will earn $160 billion in taxes on the Northern Sea Route by 2035. The Arctic region accounts for 7.5% of GDP, according to Malte Humpert of High North News.

Russian Transshipment

Transshipment through Russian seaports reached 288.6 million tons in January–April 2026, representing a 2.6% year-on-year increase. Dry cargo supply increased by 6% to 142.5 million tons. Liquid cargo supplies declined slightly by 0.6% to 146 million tons.

Yet, in April 2026 alone, Russian fossil fuel export revenues increased by 4% month-on-month, reaching €733 million per day, according to analysts Luke Wickenden and Isaac Levi of Panda Rushwood, according to a recent report from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

Valery Popov reports that Russia will sharply increase its agricultural exports to China in 2026. During the first four months of 2026, Russia exported nearly 4 million tons of agricultural products to China, worth approximately $3.5 billion. Compared to the same period last year, export volume increased by 38%, and export value increased by 46%.

The largest revenue streams were generated by frozen fish, with a 27% share of sales (up 75%), rapeseed oil, with a 17% share (up 48%), and shellfish, with a 14% share (up 28%). Dried and salted fish sold for $3.5 million, while wheat exports increased revenue from $405,000 to $2.5 million. Russia also surpassed its previous record for export revenue to China for the January-April period, set in 2023 ($2.6 billion).

Transshipment in Russian ports January-April 2026. Source: Vasily Popov, Founder and Director, Export Import Data: Russia, CIS, India, Brazil

Energy Eldorado

In April 2026, the Russian Federation achieved its highest revenue from energy sales in two and a half years. This increase occurred despite a 7% decline in export volumes. Revenues from Russian crude oil exports were limited in April, falling 9% month-on-month.

Although exports declined compared to the high revenues achieved in March, April crude oil sales revenues were still 68% higher than in February 2026. They were also 44% higher than in April of the previous year. The decline in revenues was primarily due to a 24% decline in crude oil tanker loadings. Exports of goods by sea declined following drone attacks by Ukrainian forces on Russian export terminal infrastructure.

However, oil is not the only segment of the port market. Coal is a key segment determining the strategic importance of Russian ports for the Russian economy, with loadings of coal increasing by 4.4% to 63.7 million tons in the first four months of this year. Grain exports also grew. Ships were loaded with over 53.7% more grain than during the same period of the previous year, reaching 18.8 million tons.

The exchange of containerized goods also increased, both in exports and imports. Although container throughput decreased by only 1% to 1.8 million TEU, 18.6 million tons of goods were handled in containers. Containerized cargo increased by 1.8% year-on-year. Exports totaled 227.9 million tonnes, up 2.8% year-on-year. Cabotage transport decreased by 21.3%.

Russian Gas Purchases by EU Countries. Source: CREA

LNG Beyond Sanctions

LNG exports also increased by 15.6%. Tankers carrying liquefied natural gas loaded 15 million tons in the first four months of this year. France and China were the largest importers of Russian LNG in March, accounting for a combined 42% of the total volume. For tankers from outside the EU/G7, France (35%) and China (24%) were also the main recipients. The Zeebrugge (Belgium) and Montoir (France) terminals received 46% of cargoes from Yamal, while the Tongyeong (South Korea) and Rudong LNG (PetroChina, China) terminals accounted for 34% of Sakhalin-2 exports, according to the Kyiv School of Economics’ “Russian LNG Tracker.”

LNG exports from Yamal in 2025-2026. Source: Center for High Nord Logistics, https://chnl.no

FRANCE 24 revealed over a year ago how LNG tankers were secretly taking liquefied gas from the Portowaja installation. A cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Russian installation was delivered to the terminal in Beihai, China. This was a delivery made after the facility was subject to US sanctions in 2025.

FRANCE 24 highlights “deepening Sino-Russian energy ties as Moscow seeks to increase LNG exports and secure revenues to finance the war in Ukraine.”

Anne-Sophie Corbeau, an analyst at the Center for Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, explained: “Now we have a new president who seems to be friendlier towards Vladimir Putin. Until recently, when there were some actions against oil companies, we didn’t receive many signals threatening Russia. So Russia and China basically said, ‘We’ll try,'” quotes Lise Kiennemann from FRANCE 24 Observers.

The policy of tolerance of avoiding sanctions and excessive restrictions meant that transshipment in Russian seaports in 2025 reached 884.5 million tons. According to data published on the website of the Association of Sea Ports (AMTP), “Cargo turnover in Russian sea ports in the 12 months of 2025 decreased by 0.4% compared to the same period last year, reaching 884.5 million tons,” TASS reported at the beginning of 2026.

Russia’s food exports to China. Source: Vasily Popov, Founder and Director, export import data: Russia, CIS, India, Brazil

Asia Focus

AMTP reported a 0.2% year-on-year decline in dry cargo supply, reaching 441.7 million tons. Loadings of crude oil and gas tankers also decreased by 0.5%. As a result, 442.8 million tons were loaded at fuel and gas terminals. In 2025, Russian ports handled 696.6 million tons of export cargo, a decrease of 0.6%. The supply of imported goods decreased by 3.9% to 41.2 million tons. In 2025, the volume of transit cargo increased by 10.0%. 71.5 million tons were loaded onto ships. Cabotage cargo volume decreased by 5.0% to 75.2 million tons.

Geographically, the share of total cargo handled in Russia is approximately 30% each at the Azov/Black Sea ports, the Baltic Sea ports, and the Far Eastern ports. Arctic ports account for approximately 10% of cargo and liquid cargo. The share of maritime traffic in the Caspian Sea region is marginal.

The share of Caspian Sea ports in transshipment is expected to increase with the launch of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). This multimodal corridor, consisting of maritime, rail, and road routes, is 7,200 kilometers long. It will connect the industrial regions of St. Petersburg and Moscow in Russia with industrial regions in India.

The corridor will run through Iran, Azerbaijan, and Central Asia. It will shorten transit times to 14–30 days and reduce transportation costs between Russia and India by 30%. Traffic on this route is expected to increase over the next five years, following the construction of road, rail, and port infrastructure and superstructure.

Investments in Resilience and Services

Despite the Ukrainian attacks on Russian ports, activity is expected to increase. The aforementioned investment by the Russian operator assumes that the service will first arrive in Vladivostok on June 9th of this year. Vladmorrybport will now manage 15 maritime services, including two cabotage voyages. The main routes lead to ports in China, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam, according to the “Russia’s Pivot to Asia” website.

The company manages a universal transshipment complex. In 2025, 340,000 tons of fish products and 317,000 TEU containers were transshipped. The Vladmorrybport Group operates a transshipment company and refrigerated warehouses in Vladivostok, Nakhodka, and Elektrougla in the Moscow Oblast. The Vladivostok Sea Fishing Port is one of the largest transshipment operators in the Far East.

The terminals specialize in transshipping fish products, refrigerated cargo, and containers, reports the “Russia’s Pivot to Asia” portal. Although the port is a fishing port in name only, it performs all the logistics functions of a commercial port. It has modern berthing and refrigeration infrastructure, ensuring the full cycle of cargo handling in foreign trade.

Value of energy commodity sales to 5 regions in April 2026. Source: CREA

China trades and invests

Additional funds flowed into the Russian Federation’s coffers in 2026. The crisis in the Persian Gulf, the temporary lifting of sanctions on energy resources, and rising prices led to a sharp increase in Russian LNG imports by China (EUR 379 million) and Japan (EUR 163 million) in April, by 32% and 57% month-on-month, respectively, according to CREA’s latest report.

Increased trade with China and the development of maritime transport have fueled increased interest from Chinese investors in developing port infrastructure in Russia. “The Chinese company NewNew Shipping Line may invest in a project to build a deep-water seaport in Arkhangelsk,” People’s Daily reported on its social media platform.

Meanwhile, during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, the Governor of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Alexander Tsybulsky, said: “The Chinese company NewNew Shipping Line is showing interest in the project. They are willing to invest $2.52 billion in this project for a 30% stake in the port. We are currently working with them on technical issues, but with government approval, we are ready to continue this work and sign a memorandum of understanding regarding the main areas we are ready to use in this port.”

Arkhangelsk – Northern Port Hub

The cost of building a deep-water port in Arkhangelsk is estimated at 375 billion rubles ($4.72 billion). The project, scheduled for completion in 2032, would enable the port to accommodate cargo ships with a draft of up to 14.5 meters. The regional authorities have submitted an investment declaration on the project to the Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport of Russia.

In the fall of 2023, the Russian government approved a comprehensive plan for the development of the Arkhangelsk transport hub until 2035. The government’s decree stated that the main assumptions of the plan are the creation of a deepwater zone in the port and the construction of a new terminal with a capacity of approximately 25 million tons per year by 2040.

The Dvina Bay on the White Sea was identified as the project’s location. Arkhangelsk Oblast, Sberbank, and Eurosib Group signed a cooperation agreement on the deepwater terminal project at the International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg in 2024.

The Chinese shipping line NewNew Shipping Line launched a new trade route called Arctic Express No. 1 in July 2024, running through the Northern Sea Route, connecting China’s main ports – Shanghai and Ningbo – with Arkhangelsk. Up to 20 vessel calls from China are expected in 2025, which is double the volume in 2024.

The war has not hampered the Russian Federation’s investment activity in seaports and their connections. Investments are being made in both infrastructure and logistics centers. The superstructure and its road and rail connections are being developed. Russia is particularly focused on increasing the capacity of seaports connecting Russia with Asian markets. As can be seen, foreign investors are participating in the development of this infrastructure.