NOVOROSSIYSK, RUSSIA — KSK Grain Terminal, a part of DeloPorts, handled 5.25 million tonnes of grain in 2021-2022, exceeding last year’s total by 56,000 tonnes and establishing a new single-season record.

KSK said the increase in grain handling reflected the successful operation of berth No. 40A, a new deep-water grain berth. Since berth No. 40A’s opening in July 2021, gross tonnage of vessels handled at KSK has increased to 24,500 tonnes per day from 22,600 tonnes per day, KSK said.

Additionally, the new grain berth has allowed KSK to set several new records. In January, the NORAH grain carrier with a cargo capacity of 120,000 tonnes was loaded at berth No. 40A. In taking on 95,800 tonnes of cargo, the vessel exceeded the previous record for a single grain shipment by more than 23,000 tonnes. Then, in March, KSK said it handled 27 vessels at berths 40 and 40A, breaking the previous record by 5 units.

“The berth 40A was put into operation a year ago,” said Roman Antipov, technical director of DeloPorts. “It is the only deep-water berth for Russian grain loading onto vessels with deadweight up to 100,000 tonnes. Such projects as these increase transshipment capacity in the Azov-Black Sea basin.”

Igo Yakovenko, chief executive officer of DeloPorts, added, “Now Novorossiysk has a well-developed port infrastructure that provides cargo transportation at the highest world level. Implementation of such large-scale projects is part of the Russian transport infrastructure development. By launching the berth 40A, Delo Group opened new promising markets for Russian grain in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.”

DeloPorts is a holding company that owns and operates stevedore assets of Delo Group in the port of Novorossiysk. Delo Group is the largest transport and logistics holding in Russia.