Murmansk Seaport

Murmansk Seaport 

a commercial port on the eastern shore of Kola Bay of the Barents Sea, between Capes Zelenyi and Khaldeev. The largest Soviet port above the arctic circle, it is accessible to ocean vessels all year. The port, which was founded in 1915, developed rapidly under Soviet power and was completely rebuilt and equipped with modern machinery.

During the Great Patriotic War (1941–45), Murmansk seaport continued its operations without interruption under concentrated fascist bombing and harsh climatic conditions, ensuring the unloading and loading of vessels carrying ammunition, military equipment, and economic supplies. During the postwar years (1945–50) the seaport’s ruined economy was quickly reconstructed, and new moorages were built and equipped with highly efficient machinery for the transshipment of chemical fertilizers, iron-ore concentrate, and other cargoes.

Every year Murmansk seaport is visited by hundreds of Soviet and foreign vessels. Convoys leave the port with economic cargoes for various arctic areas. The seaport is the base of the Murmansk Maritime Shipping Line. Merchant vessels and icebreakers take on oil-distillation residues (fuel), lubricating oil, and food and water there. Ship hulls, machinery, and electrical and radio navigation instruments are repaired at a repair yard. There is a marine terminal and a fishing port in Murmansk. The seaport has been awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1966).

V. V. PONIATOVSKII