Novorossiysk (Russia)

Novorossiysk (Новоросси́йск") a Black Sea port city located along Tsemess Bay in Russia's Krasnodar Krai, with population around 240,000. By annual cargo shipping volume, Port Novorossiysk (locode RUNVS, officially Novorossiysk Sea Port/NSP) is ranked Europe's sixth-largest (after Rotterdam Netherlands, Antwerp Belgium, Hamburg Germany, Amsterdam Netherlands, Marseille France). It is the Black Sea's largest and Russia's longest seaport by total docking line (~8,3 km / 5,2+ mi), having 90+ berths.

Tsemes/Novorossiysk Bay allows port access to vessels with macx draft 19 m (62 ft), while the Port's inner harbor can be accessed by ships with max draft 12,5 m (41 ft). At Port Novorossiysk are handled mainly large-capacity oil tankers (with max DWT-deadweight tonnage 250,000 tons), asl well as dry-bulk carriers and container ships. Among the exported cargoes are grain, oil and petroleum products, mineral fertilizers, timber, coal, food.

Port Novorossiysk is separated into several zones specializing in cargo shipping (3x terminals), passenger shipping, Oil Port (Sheskharis Terminal handles ~1/3rd of Russia's entire oil export, has 3x berths each 200 m / 656 ft in length), Timber Port, Grain Port (houses the Novorossiyskiy Grain Terminal & Grain Plant).

The Port also houses the Novorossiysk Shipyard (has drydocking capacity 60,000 DWT-tons), the Novorossiysk Naval Base (Russian Federation's Black Sea Navy's homeport) and the Aleksino Port Marina (with modern facilities for ship repairs, can accommodate vessels with max DWT 450 tons, including military vessels).

The city's current economy is based on the seaport's activities Novorossiysk is Russia's principal Black Sea port and the country's largest grain exporting port. This is also the Black Sea's busiest oil exporting port, with Tengiz Field pipeline's terminus located here. The city has well-developed steel and food processing industries. Large limestone quarries supply the local cement factories.

Novorossiysk is famous for being one of Russia's all 12 cities designated as "Hero City" (город-герой) - together with Leningrad (St Petersburg), Stalingrad (Volgograd), Odessa, Sevastopol, Moscow, Kiev, Kerch, Minsk, Tula, Murmansk, and Smolensk. The award was given for outstanding heroism during WW2 (1939-45).