News / India-Russia trade stays robust as operators find new corridors

Trade and other bilateral ties between India and Russia have been historically robust since the days of the Soviet Union, but recent western sanctions on Russia tied to the Ukraine war have made supply chains problematic for ocean carriers.

According to industry sources, MSC is the only mainline carrier still active on the India-Russia container trade, but using transhipment options out of its multiple services.

The carrier is regularly loading containers out of Nhava Sheva and Mundra for St Petersburg, Novorossiysk and Vladivostok, sources said, with transit times from Nhava Sheva to St Petersburg varying from 50 to 65 days, available port data shows.

MSC is said to have the maximum number of weekly sailings/services out of India, especially calling into Nhava Sheva and Mundra, so there is usually ample vessel space for transhipment cargo. Most MSC vessels have berthing windows at DP World Nhava Sheva (NSIGT) and PSA Mumbai (BMCT) in Nhava Sheva.

Feeder lines, including Unifeeder, and several NVO-controlled, ad-hoc service providers are also serious participants in India-Russia containerised freight handling, according to market sources. Mumbai-based Econship was known to be among NVOs using the strategy of deploying vessels on inducements.

Additionally, both India and Russia have taken steps to boost trade via the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), with Chabahar port in Iran as a transit point.

Thanks to those efforts, between end-2024 and early-2025, Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) added ocean services between Chabahar and Nhava Sheva/Mundra.

Similarly, RZD Logistics, a subsidiary of Russian railway RZD, stepped in with container train services from Moscow to Iran for transloading solutions, while Fesco, Russia’s largest ocean container carrier, expanded capacity on services connecting to Nhava Sheva and Mundra, with feeder relays for other Indian ports, including Kolkata, Tuticorin, and Chennai.

Other alternatives for India-Russia trade coverage included opening a maritime corridor between Chennai and Vladivostok in late 2024.

“The distance between Mumbai and  St Petersburg by the western sea route via the Suez Canal, is 8,675 nautical miles or 16,066 km, whereas the distance from Chennai to Vladivostok via the Eastern Maritime Corridor is only 5,647 nautical miles, or 10,458 km,” India’s Ministry of Shipping noted.

“There is a clear-cut saving of almost 16 days of travel time, and this will help in reducing logistic cost immensely, apart from hugely boosting efficiency in transportation of cargo between the two countries.”

Meanwhile, Indian operations at Chabahar – involving a $370m investment in return for 10-year concession rights – have normalised after Washington last month agreed a further six-month sanctions waiver for the port.

Trade volumes between India and Russia have seen a five-fold increase over the past five years, reaching some $66bn in 2024, according to available data, with sources telling The Loadstar that Indian containerised exports to Russia are in the region of 600 teu a week.