In Krasnoyarsk, the Yenisei River Shipping Company was solemnly congratulated on its 95th anniversary. The event took place in the Small Concert Hall of the Krasnoyarsk Regional Philharmonic.
The company, which was created on February 5, 1931, is today the leading carrier of goods along the Yenisei. In the first year, the shipping company received 12 cargo-passenger ships and three service ships, 11 tugs and 56 barges with a carrying capacity of 24.7 thousand tons. During the first navigation, 134.8 thousand tons of cargo were transported, most of which was coal (126 thousand tons), as well as grain and timber. Today, the Yenisei River Shipping Company is a strategically important element of the economy of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and a significant part of Nornickel’s logistics complex.
“The Yenisei is the core of the Krasnoyarsk region. The national economic potential of using the Yenisei is manifested in the entire history of the Yenisei River Shipping Company. From the first days, literally “from the wheels,” the shipping company was involved in solving the most serious, large-scale problems of the development of the region and the development of the North. Today we see that the enterprise is developing and is one of the flagships of the transport industry in the region. It is impossible to imagine solving the strategic tasks of developing the Arctic, which are facing the entire country, and in particular the Krasnoyarsk Territory, without the Yenisei River Shipping Company,” emphasized Alexey Dodatko, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
Today, the Yenisei River Shipping Company has the most powerful fleet on the Yenisei, which numbers about 400 vessels for various purposes. The company has its own ship repair departments, which allow it to service, repair and modernize its fleet. The team consists of 2.5 thousand employees.
“Every year we deliver about 3 million tons of cargo to consumers – as part of the “northern delivery”, to implement Norilsk Nickel’s plans to modernize production and renovate Norilsk, to implement large-scale investment projects for the development of oil and gas fields, and many others. Behind every victory and achievement is the work of people. Both those who stood at the origins, paved new routes, and those who today continue the good traditions laid down by veterans and provide solutions to any, the most difficult problems,” emphasized Andrey Viskunov, General Director of Norilsk Nickel-ERP.
Veteran of the Yenisei River Shipping Company Alexander Andronov worked at the enterprise for 45 years. He came to practice at the company as a cadet at the river school, and gradually rose to captain. He took part in the construction in Budapest of the most powerful pusher tugs for the Yenisei, OT-2400, and subsequently worked on one of them, which received the onboard name “Nikolai Ignatyuk”.
“I am especially proud that I worked at Podkamennaya Tunguska for 30 years. This is one of the most beautiful, but also the most severe tributaries of the Yenisei: in order to deliver goods to their destinations, you need to overcome 12 rapids. We transported drilling rigs, pipes, fuels and lubricants, coal for heating and, of course, food there. I am glad that during my work I was able not only to study the river and its tributaries, but also to train five more captains,” the veteran noted.
Now the son of Alexander Andronov works as a shift captain-mechanic in the Podtesovskaya electronic warfare fleet, and his daughter works in the customer service department of the ERP. In total, the company employs more than 30 labor dynasties. Georgy Tokmakov is a second generation river worker. He dreamed of standing at the helm of a passenger ship, like his dad, but he became the captain of the RT-710 pusher tug, which he does not regret at all.
The company celebrates its anniversary year in full readiness for new challenges. In 2022-2024, Norilsk Nickel invested more than 2 billion rubles in the acquisition of ten new barges with a carrying capacity of 2.5 thousand tons for mixed river-sea navigation for the Yenisei River Shipping Company. About 60% of the company's cargo is transported on such vessels. In 2025-2027, the fleet will be replenished with ten more similar barges. Of these, two have already been placed at the disposal of the shipping company. Four more will be delivered in 2026 and 2027.
