History

Russian

English

The North-Western Shipping Company is rich in historic traditions going back to the beginning of shipping in Russia and development of Saint-Petersburg as a maritime capital of the country.
Shipping companies began to develop in last years of the first half of the XIX century.
The first shipping house in the North-Western basin – Nevskoye shipping company – had been founded in 1848.
On the eve of the World War I, in 1913, in the North-Western region there were more than 250 small and big companies – steamship owners.
To the end of 1918, in the result of nationalization in the Mariinsky waterway system, as much as 664 transport agencies owning 602 steamships and 2382 dumb barges became the public property. This fleet was turned over to Administration of the Mariinsky canal.
The North-Western inland navigation company was founded by the decree of the Council of People’s Commissars of January 30, 1923. Since then its staff has contributed much into development of inland navigation in the Russian North-West.
From the first days of the Great Patriotic War the staff of the North-Western Shipping Company was working in front-line conditions. The enterprise became a part of the Ladoga Navy. In September of 1941, after the blockade circle had been closed, vessels of the Company delivered across the Ladoga Lake foodstuffs, ammunition, outfits and fighting equipment to Leningrad and, on the way back, took away people and valuable industrial equipment from the besieged city. In this way the famous Life Road was established.
27 ships were named after heroes of the Life Road, 212 members of the Company staff perished, on 3000 orders and medals were conferred. The Defense committee handed over the GKO Red banner to the Company, to be kept forever, and the name of the Company was put on the plate of the Leningrad defense memorial.
In 1964, after the Volga-Baltic Waterway has been commissioned, construction of the united deep-water river system of the European Russia was completed. The concept of carriage by the river-sea class vessels, which was implemented later in other shipping companies of the Ministry of river fleet, was developed on the initiative and with direct participation of the North-Western Shipping Company.
The first ships traveling along the Volga-Baltic Waterway were M/S Professor Kirichev of the North Western inland navigation company carrying iron ore concentrate from Kandalaksha to the Cherepovets Metal Works, Volgo-Balt –7 and Volgo-Balt –10 carrying coal from Cherepovets to Kandalaksha.
The first overseas ship of the North Western inland navigation company was M/S Baltiysky –8.
In the beginning of 70s the Company started routes through Saimensky canal.
On the initiative of the North-Western Shipping Company, there were started interbasin shipping, carriage without transshipment and direct mixed carriage by railroad and water transport.
In 70s, the powerful production complex of the Company has been formed on the base of shipbuilding and ship repairing yards, which can carry out building repair, maintenance and servicing of vessels used for various purposes.
1980s were the period, when the fleet and the production facilities of the North-Western Shipping Company has been formed. The river shipping station with the hotel and the repair and operation facilities for passenger ships was built, the basic facilities of the Leningrad ship repair and operation depot were reconstructed.
In 1985 the Podporozhye river port was put into service.
In June of 1993 the Company was privatized as one of the first companies in the sea and river transport companies.
Development plans of North-Western Shipping JSC take into account to most significant Russian investments projects.
The Company won confidence of investors; this fact was confirmed by:

    - the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development having granted in 1992 a credit to the NWS JSC – the first of Russian shipping companies – for building a series of ships of Baltyisky-201 project;
  - the Sberbank of Russia having granted in 2000 a credit to the Company for building of ships of the Valdai project;
  - the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation having allocated funds for modernization of excursion ships and landing stages on the occasion of celebration of the 300 anniversary of Saint-Petersburg;
  - the International Finance Corporation (IFC) having granted in 2004 a credit for building of ships of the Rusich project.