Russian box volumes rebound despite sanctions and service realignments
RUSSIA’S containerised cargo market has shown surprising resilience in the years following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Despite intense international sanctions and the exodus of global carriers, volumes at major Russian gateways — particularly Vladivostok and Novorossiysk — have not only held steady but have surged well beyond pre-war levels.
Now, with St Petersburg seeing a gradual uptick in throughput and the prospect of mainline services returning, the Baltic port is reasserting its relevance in a trade landscape reshaped by regional realignments and opportunistic feeder growth.
Earlier this month it was revealed that French carrier CMA CGM is planning to return to Russia following a more than three-year hiatus in mid-November.
CMA CGM withdrew its Russian services shortly after the country’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, when the Marseille-headquartered line was joined by nearly all the major carriers previously calling in Russia, including Maersk, Ocean Network Express, Hapag-Lloyd and Zim, to halt coverage.
Chinese operator Cosco pulled the plug on its regular strings in 2022.
According to Alphaliner, CMA CGM will add a fortnightly stopover in St Petersburg as part of its Finland Express (FLX) service, linking Germany with key Baltic ports, from mid-November.
The first scheduled call into St Petersburg under the loop will be made on November 17 by the 1,436 teu North (IMO: 9491501).
Lloyd’s List has approached CMA CGM for comment.
Until now, the only global container carrier still calling Russia post-invasion has been Mediterranean Shipping Co.
MSC operates its fruit-focused “Ecuador-NWC-USA” service into St Petersburg, which is not subject to international sanctions.
The weekly service deploys a fleet of MSC-owned containerships of between 4,100 teu and 4,900 teu which can each load at least 1,100 refrigerated containers.
MSC has maintained a Baltic feeder service from Rotterdam and Antwerp which calls at St Petersburg and utilises 1,700 teu vessels.
The Geneva-based line also makes regular calls into the port of Novorossiysk, as part of its ‘Black Sea String B’ feeder service, connecting the Black Sea with the east Mediterranean.
Despite the exodus of mainline operators and sanction headwinds, the demand for containerised cargo in Russia has though not been dampened.
Lloyd’s List reported back in 2023 that a new wave of opportunistic operators, usually backed by Chinese or Russian forwarding companies, had looked to plug the gap and profit from this lucrative trade opportunity.
This has spurred a flurry of new services both from domestic operators, such as FESCO, Novik and Delo.
Foreign participants, most notably Chinese or South Korean players serving Vladivostok on Russia’s Far East Pacific seaboard, include Namsung Shipping Co, SITC and Transit.
Turkish operators Arkas Line, Akkon Lines and Avrasya Shipping continue to serve Russia via the Black Sea gateway port of Novorossiysk.
The rapid launch of services post invasion helped ensure container coverage was sustained at pre-war levels through both Vladivostok and Novorossiysk in the immediate aftermath. Indeed, in the proceeding years trade has increased significantly.
Figures from Dynamar show volumes jumped 27% and 40% from 2022 against 2024 at Vladivostok and Novorossiysk, respectively.
In the case of St Petersburg, the onset of war led to a significant fall back in traffic in 2022, when volumes slumped by more than half amid the impact of muted Baltic trade and the absence of mainline cargoes.
However, like Russia’s two other main ports, St Petersburg too is beginning to see a revival in trade.
Although box volumes remain down on pre-war totals there has been a steady increase in trade since its 2022 low, including a 31% jump last year to nearly 1.4m teu.
St Petersburg’s throughput numbers in 2024 were still around 450,000 teu short of its ‘normal’ quota in 2021, yet so far this year the trend of clawing back traffic has continued, rising 5% through the first nine months of 2025 on last year.
The Baltic port had previously been chiefly served by services fed from north European hub ports by major carriers’ global networks.
Prior to CMA CGM, St Petersburg has also welcomed new services this year from Vuxx Shipping, AGS Shipping and Aurora Line, as the latest lines looking to capitalise on the Russian market.
China-owned Vuxx Shipping launched a new service from Russia to the east coast of South America in August utilising chartered 1,700 teu and 1,900 teu containerships.
Russian carrier AGS Shipping provides a weekly Rotterdam-St Petersburg service utilising a pair of 350 teu ships.
Aurora Line, headquartered in St. Petersburg, launched its first China to St Petersburg containership sailing earlier this month, which will utilise the Northern Sea Route.
The 1999-built, 2,135 teu Hong Chang Sheng (IMO: 9178525), has been chartered to operate the service from Ningbo, Taicang and Nansha.
Direct services to St Petersburg are also now being provided from India, North Africa and the Middle East by several obscure operators which are understood to be backed by Russian freight forwarders using a variety of elderly, chartered containerships.
Though CMA CGM’s return is unlikely to signal a normalisation of liner services to Russia, the country’s expanding container volumes underscores the adaptability of its maritime and logistics sectors amid geopolitical isolation.
The withdrawal of mainline operators has catalysed a decentralised resurgence, where regional players and niche services now underpin Russia’s container throughput.
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