LOCATION AND CHARACTERISTICS

Vanino Bay cuts into the mainland by eight kilometres to the west and southwest. The water area is divided into outer and inner roads. The area of the outer roads is about six square kilometres.

The depth of the outer roads ranges from 15 to 18 m. The geological feature allows to dredge it down to 18-20 m.

Port Vanino operates all the year round, including winter months. Ice which appears between in late January and disappears by early March does not hamper the manoeuvring of ships to any great extent. Vessels can still sail without resorting to icebreakers in this period.

This is because winds from the north-west clear the ice from the bay, enabling vessels to call at the port without assistance. The services of an icebreaker are rarely called upon and delays experienced by vessels are insignificant.

The wind regime is monsoon with the average wind speed of 4 to 7 m/sec. The number of storm days is from 1 to 7 per month in the period from October to April. The average annual air temperature is +20C. The average annual precipitation rate is 782 mm.

The Vanino - Kholmsk ferry line to Sakhalin Island (where ice ferries are used) is a kind of a continuation of the Baikal-Amur Railroad. Port Vanino has some non-developed land and water areas which are suitable for further expansion of the Port to turn it into a full- fledged international port capable of accommodation of vessels up to 50,000 tons.

Port Vanino is one of the major ports in Pacific Russia and a cargo-handling hub of the Khabarovsk Territory. The biggest tonnage of cargoes handled in the Port was reached in 1989 and constituted 11.5 million tons.

One of the stages of the economic reforms underway in Russia now is privatisation of public corporations, including sea ports.

Today, Vanino Commercial Sea Port (Port Vanino for short) is a public corporation. After the reorganisation of the Port the legal successor is the Port Vanino Joint-Stock Company

The principal functions of the Public Marine Administration of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation are the following:

• Supervision of safe navigation
• Operation and development of public property facilities
• Supervision of observance of international shipping agreements and conventions and the Russian shipping Laws

All the above-mentioned powers acquired by the Port Vanino Marine Administration in accordance with the Russian Laws cover all port enterprises located in Vanino Bay and Gulf Sovetskaya Gavan.