Russian Black Sea ports lost up to 100% of cargo in September, seek state bailout

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, prompting port operators and regional officials to seek emergency state support.

Major ports including Novorossiysk, Taman and Tuapse sent employees on unpaid leave or laid them off as operations ground to a halt, Kommersant reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

OTEKO, which operates terminals in Taman, said combined monthly losses for businesses and government budgets at all levels exceed 200 billion rubles, equivalent to $2.2 billion, citing expert estimates.

Krasnodar Krai Governor Veniamin Kondratyev has asked Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev for emergency state support. In a letter reviewed by Kommersant, Kondratyev proposed subsidies to cover wages, equipment maintenance, warehouse and port infrastructure upkeep, electricity bills and utility costs. He also called for partial reimbursement of loan interest and subsidised loans to cover cash-flow shortfalls.

Patrushev instructed the Transport, Finance, Agriculture and Economic Development ministries on 6 October to review the proposals.

The Association of Commercial Seaports separately appealed for tax and rent payment deferrals, wage subsidies, reinsurance for war-related risks and a suspension of regulatory inspections.

The southern Russian port industry employs around 20,000–25,000 people. Subsidising 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 pay around 700 million rubles in property and land taxes each year, alongside approximately 1.5 billion rubles in rent for federally owned facilities.

A source told Kommersant that "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.