Russian ports on the Black and Azov seas lost 95-100% of their cargo volumes and 85% of passenger traffic in September following massive drone attacks.
Major ports, including Novorossiysk, Taman and Tuapse, have sent employees on unpaid leave or laid them off as operations grind to a halt, Kommersant reported on Oct. 21, citing sources familiar with the matter.
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The disruption has put southern Russia’s logistics network under severe strain, according to OTEKO, which operates terminals in Taman.
The company said combined monthly losses for businesses and government budgets at all levels exceed 200 billion rubles ($2.2 billion), citing expert estimates.
Krasnodar governor seeks state bailout
Krasnodar Krai Governor Veniamin Kondratyev has asked Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev for emergency state support to keep the region’s seaports afloat.
In a letter reviewed by Kommersant, Kondratyev proposed subsidies to cover wages, equipment maintenance, warehouse and port infrastructure upkeep, electricity and utility bills.
He also called for compensation for the costs of keeping terminals ready to resume operations once restrictions are lifted, partial reimbursement of loan interest and subsidized loans to cover cash-flow shortfalls during shutdowns.
Patrushev instructed the Transport, Finance, Agriculture and Economic Development ministries on Oct. 6 to review the proposals, Kommersant reported.
The Association of Commercial Seaports had previously appealed to the government for assistance, seeking tax and rent payment deferrals, wage subsidies, reinsurance for war-related risks and a suspension of regulatory inspections.
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Its proposals included deferring payments for federally owned facilities leased by port operators, as well as VAT, corporate income tax, social insurance contributions, property tax and land tax.
Billions at stake
The southern Russian port industry employs around 20,000-25,000 people, according to a source cited by Kommersant.
Subsidizing their wages at the minimum wage level would cost the government an estimated 550 million-670 million rubles ($6.1 million-$7.4 million) per month, or 6.6 billion-8 billion rubles ($73 million-$89 million) annually.
The ports themselves pay around 700 million rubles ($7.8 million) in property and land taxes each year, alongside approximately 1.5 billion rubles ($16.7 million) in rent for federally owned facilities.
“If the infrastructure is not supported and these highly specialized workers are not retained now, everything will have to be rebuilt from scratch once hostilities end,” a source told Kommersant.
OTEKO said state support was needed to restore cargo throughput at ports that handle key Russian exports, including coal, grain, metals and petroleum products.
Ukraine’s campaign against Russian ports
Ukraine has stepped up long-range strikes on Russian ports, oil terminals and logistics hubs in an effort to disrupt military operations and reduce the export revenues helping fund Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
In September, Ukrainian forces struck Novorossiysk’s port infrastructure and fuel-oil storage facilities, as well as the Makhachkala Commercial Sea Port on the Caspian Sea, which Kyiv says is used to transport Iranian-made Shahed drones to Russia.
Previous attacks have also disrupted operations at Novorossiysk’s Sheskharis oil terminal, while a series of strikes on Tuapse’s port and oil refinery caused more than $300 million in direct infrastructure damage, according to Ukraine’s General Staff.
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