On 15 July, a system allowing transit of embargoed cargo was launched in Russia. Carriage of goods is possible in both road and rail traffic.
Russia formally granted a permit to transport sanctioned cargo as early as July last year. However, on one condition – that it will take place with the use of tracking devices, the so-called navigation seals. In December 2019, the requirements and the process of assembly and disassembly of such equipment was approved by the authorities.
Thus, in theory, transit has been possible for a year now, but it is only now that Russia has launched the national cargo tracking system with the use of electronic navigation seals. This means that as of 15 July 2020, road and rail carriers can officially carry out transit traffic through Russia to third countries.
The operator of navigation seals is the Digital Platform Development Centre (CRCP), a subsidiary of RT Invest – Transport Systems, the operator of the state-owned toll collection system Płaton. Assembly and disassembly of the equipment takes place at 20 road crossings and 10 railways.
The data on the cargo route is available for carriers and shippers on the operator’s website – crcp.ru. The control and supervisory authorities monitor the transport of goods subject to sanctions, which have now been extended until 31 December 2020, on an ongoing basis. The infrastructure of the Płaton system, covering all federal motorways, is also used to monitor transport.
According to the Russian Ministry of Transport’s calculations, the implementation of the truck sealing system will increase the number of transit transports in rail and road traffic by 82,000 annually. The Ministry also pointed out that the route through the Federation’s territory is shorter, which will significantly speed up and improve the supply chain. According to the calculations of international road carriers, each transport bypassing Russia is over $5,000 more expensive.
List of border crossings where seals are installed and dismantled
Road crossings
Russia-Finland border:
– Torfyanovka (Leningrad Oblast, Vyborg region).
– Brusnitshnoje (Leningrad Oblast, 71 km of the Zverevo-Malinovka road, at the height of Seleznievskaya).
Russia-Latvia border:
– Burachki (Pskov Oblast, 300 m north-west of Sosnovy Bor, village of Burachki).
– Ubylinka (Pskov Oblast, Gavrovskaya village, Ubolenka village).
Russia-Ukraine border:
– Krupiec (Kursk Oblast, within the Kozinsky municipality)
– Sudza (Kursk Oblast, the Zaoleshensky municipality)
– Troybortnoye (Bryansk Oblast, 518 km of the Ukraine road)
– Nekhochejevka (Belgorod Oblast, 705 km of the Moscow-Simferopol road)
– Novy Yurkovichy (on the border with Ukraine and Belarus, Klimovsky District)
Russia-Estonia border:
– Iwangorod (Leningrad Oblast, Kingisepp)
Russia-Belarus border:
– Krasnoye (M1 road Moscow-Belarus border, at 456 km)
– Rudnya (road A-141 (R-120) Oryol-Briansk-Smolensk-border with Belarus, at 448 km)
– Krasnyi Kamen (road A-240 (M13 Briansk-Novozybkov-border with Belarus, at 220 km)
Russia-Kazakhstan border:
– Mastakovo (Orenburg Oblast, Pervomaiskiy District, 194 km of the A-300 Samara-Bolshaya-Chernovka-border with Kazakhstan)
– Bugristoy (Chelyabinsk Oblast, Troitsky District, road A-310 Yekaterinburg – Alma-Ata, at 147 km)
– Petukhovo (Kurgan Oblast, 464 km of the R-254 road Irtysh)
– Veseloyarsk (road A-322 Barnaul-Rubtsovsk-border with Kazahstan, at 404 km)
Russia-Mongolia border:
– Kyakhta (Buryatia)
Russia-Georgia border:
Verkhniy Lars (North Ossetia)
Russia-Azerbaijan border:
– Yarag-Kazmaliar (Dagestan)
Rail crossings
Buslovskaya (Leningrad Oblast)
Pechory-Pskov (Pskov Oblast)
Sebezh (Pskov Oblast)
Smolensk-Sortitovochnyi (Smolensk Oblast)
Belgorod (Belgorod Oblast)
Ozinki (Saratov Oblast)
Iletsk-1 (Orenburg Oblast)
Orsk (Orenburg Oblast)
Kartaly (Chelyabinsk Oblast)
Zabaykalsk (Zabaykalsky Krai)
Zeleznodoroznaya (Moscow Oblast)
Photo: crcp.ru