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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
For the first time in 30 years, Russia is preparing to export pig iron through the Arctic port of Murmansk. Shipments are being rerouted from the Black Sea, where navigation was disrupted by Ukrainian strikes on Russian port and naval infrastructure.
This was reported by Dilo with
a reference to a report from
the Financial Times.
The Murmansk port already announced in 14 October that it had started handling pig iron for the first time since 1996
That port has already received more than 180 rail cars of
metal from the Urals.
The pilot consignment will be about 65 thousand tons and will likely
be sent to Turkey. Since 1 January 2026, the import of Russian pig iron into
the EU has been banned.
New route is more expensive and longer
Rerouting cargo through Murmansk significantly increases
the logistical costs for Russian exporters.
Delivery via the Arctic port takes about 10 days
longer than via the Black Sea. According to Argus analyst Austin Barnes, freight
rates from Murmansk to Turkey are nearly twice as high as from Black Sea
ports.
Some Russian producers are forced to spend about
$100 more per ton just on rail and sea delivery.
The last shipment of Russian pig iron through Novorossiysk was
sent in 31 July.
Russia seeks an alternative to the Black Sea
The Russian Federation has already largely redirected raw material exports to
Baltic ports, but due to their congestion some cargoes have to be
sent even further north.
The Murmansk port said that changes in logistics in southern
Russia led to a sharp increase in cargo volumes. To handle pig iron there,
they even had to fabricate special buckets and equip the transshipment
equipment with electromagnets.
After the test shipment, the parties will consider
the possibility of organizing regular supplies.
Murmansk, which was traditionally used mainly for
oil exports, has recently also been used by Russia for transshipping
metals and grain.
Recall that earlier Russia
already began exporting grain through Murmansk due to problems with Black Sea
logistics. Then transporting grain by rail to the Arctic port turned out to be
3–5 times more expensive than to the traditional southern ports.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Через українські удари Росія вперше за 30 років повезе чавун через Арктику — маршрут довший і вдвічі дорожчий". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Delo.ua.
