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Russia has opened its domestic waters to foreign vessels - small ones only

08:07, 8 июля 2011

Yesterday the Federal Council has approved the changes in Russia’s Inland Water Transport Code that open the Russian waterways for vessels with foreign colours.

But for now the new rule applies only to yachts which can hold up to 18 people including 12 passengers.

The Federation of Yachting Sport alone registers about 5 thousand requests from abroad for transits in Russian domestic waters. But until now the law allowed only vessels with Russian colours to use the mentioned waterways. It was sometimes possible to arrange permission for a foreign boat, but the procedure was long and tedious, including checks from Federal Security Service, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Usually such permissions were used only by regatta participants, who had to make a stop in St. Petersburg. And even they often encountered problems. Now the situation should change for the better, it’s expected that anyone will be able to get the permission in a week.

In the new revision of the Code, it is said that “the list of ports and internal waterways, available for navigation to foreign vessels, will be determined by the Russain government”. It seems that the bylaws will be developed by the Ministry of Transportation. It will determine which ports and waterways are ready to accept boats and yachts.

Experts say that at the moment such ports are very few. For instance, Moscow, St.Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Tolyatti can intake yachts at present. But the only destination a foreign boat can actually reach is St.Petersburg. Other cities are unreachable because of poor infrastructure – lack of service and fuelling stations. Local yachtsmen recall how 5 years ago a group was travelling from Moscow to St.Petersburg and had to keep close to a fuel boat at all times.

These are all the reasons local boat owners cannot set out for a voyage along the Volga. The river is being domesticated by sections. As soon as the Rybinsk yacht-club gets a fuelling station, it will be possible to travel from Tver to Plyos. And when the Plyos yacht-club is finished, boat owners will have 400 km of lock-free waterways from the Rybinsk locks to the Gorodecky locks.

Some experts expect that some investors will help create the proper infrastructure if foreign tourists become interested in travelling amid Russian waters. However there’s a different opinion. A huge problem is lack of precise maps, navigation support and loitered fairways. And government support is essential to solve these issues. In order to develop yachting tourism, federal and regional grant programs based on cooperation of state and private funds, should be introduced.

Another barrier on the path of yachting tourism in Russia is the legal basis, that regulates the domestic waterway usage. Development of infrastructure (first of all – fuelling stations, loading docks and piers), upkeep of proper fairway conditions, creation of yacht-club standards and yacht-itineraries, changes is lock passing procedures, creation of education centres, shipbuilding in Russia, security – these are just some of the issues that need legal support in order to develop yachting tourism in Russia.

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