St Petersburg consolidates terminal operations and looks to turnarounds

The St Petersburg government has taken the decision to establish Marine Facade as the unified operator for all of its passenger terminals. This year, therefore, the company is taking on the two terminals and two berths at English and Lieutenant Schmidt Embarkment in the city centre.

It already operates four terminals and seven berths at Passenger Port of St Petersburg and, since 2018, six berths and one terminal at the old marine terminal (Morskoy Vokzal).

“It could take some time as these objects must be transferred from the federal property to the city and then to Marine Facade,” explains Vadim Kashirin, director general Passenger Port of Saint Petersburg Marine Facade. “We believe the procedure will be completed in the nearest time and we will operate all objects next cruise season.”

With the city of St Petersburg being 100% shareholder of Marine Facade, this means that all the terminals will belong to the city and be operated accordingly. It also means that city revenue will be increased from the cruiseship and ferry operations at the terminals.
 
On October 1 a free eight-day E-visa was introduced for those visiting St Petersburg and the Leningrad region. Now tourists can apply for an E-visa at the website of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (https://evisa.kdmid.ru/). At present 53 countries are participants in the pilot project.

The government of the Russian Federation plan is to improve the regime so that in the future (after 2021) visitors will have the opportunity to travel visa-free around whole country for a longer period.

At the same time Marine Facade, with the assistance of St Petersburg government, has recently initiated amendments to the 72-hour visa-free regime for cruise and ferry passengers, which will allow them to stay visa-free in the city for several days pre or post cruise. 

Turnaround operations are now being looked at more closely: “Today we are already in dialogue with some cruiselines on the necessary steps for infrastructure development and arrangement issues,” explains Kashirin, adding: “We are a well-known and trusted partner guided by high quality service, ultimate transparency and quick feedback.”