On August 26, Mediterranean Shipping Co, the world's largest container line, stopped accepting booking requests for cargo transportation to and from Novorossiysk. The reason was a UAV attack on its vessel, MSC ULSAN III. On the same day, NKHP provided its initial estimate for the resumption of grain shipments—from one to four months—and on August 28, the Rostov Region declared a state of emergency due to port shutdowns. During the same week, the government allocated 9.7 billion rubles for subsidized rail tariffs for agricultural exports, and starting September 1, transport documents are accepted exclusively in electronic format.
MSC closed bookings, Rostov Region declared a state of emergency
MSC notified customers on August 26 that the acceptance of new booking requests to and from the Russian port of Novorossiysk had been suspended. The line did not disclose details of the incident involving MSC ULSAN III. Clients were advised to contact the Russian representative office to arrange alternative routes for import and export, with weekly calls promised to resume once conditions allow. The customer advisory was reported by Kommersant citing Bloomberg. The key difference from previous weeks is simple: previously, lines introduced war risk surcharges or changed ports of call; now, bookings are completely unavailable, and a slot cannot be secured at any price.
The line did not specify return dates, leaving no basis for forward planning with them.
On August 28, another update arrived from the south. Effective 18:00 MSK, a regional state of emergency was declared in the Rostov Region. By decree of Governor Yuri Slyusar, the situation developing since July 10, 2026, was declared an emergency due to paralyzed ports and disrupted maritime navigation in the Azov-Black Sea basin caused by attacks on logistics infrastructure. The official decree stated the rationale plainly: agricultural producers had accumulated large volumes of produce, threatening livelihoods and causing substantial financial losses. A logistics disruption in the south has been formalized as a state of emergency at the regional level for an entire agricultural territory for the first time, rather than for a single port or terminal.
These two developments point to a clear rule for September planning. Consider Novorossiysk and Azov ports inaccessible until NKHP resumes grain shipments and MSC reopens bookings. As your base alternative, select one of the three operational routes: the Baltic, Far Eastern, or Caspian legs. Fresh performance figures have emerged for each of them this week.
NKHP estimates one to four months to resume shipments
Novorossiysk Grain Plant has provided a timeframe for the first time. In its IFRS report published on August 26, the company estimated the timeline required to restore shipments via infrastructure damaged in the August 12 UAV attack at one to four months. The range depends on the transshipment technology scheme ultimately adopted. According to the report, final timelines are not yet fixed, as technical inspections are still underway. The assets are insured; the extent of damage and insurance indemnification are currently being assessed. These figures were reported by Interfax based on the disclosure.
The scale of disrupted capacity is evident from H1 performance. During January–June 2026, NKHP handled over 2.43 million tons of grain for export, up 1.7 times year-on-year. In other words, a deep-water terminal that was scaling up handling volumes through spring has been taken offline, with the downtime covering the entire peak of the export season.
Government allocated 9.7 billion rubles for subsidized tariffs for agricultural exports
On August 29, Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree allocating over 9.7 billion rubles to subsidize rail freight for agricultural products under preferential tariffs. The decision was made during a government meeting on August 27. According to the Cabinet's press release, the funds will compensate carriers for losses incurred under preferential tariffs and ensure export commitments are fulfilled despite the current situation in the Azov-Black Sea basin. Shipments under preferential rates can be arranged in both railcars and containers, with the subsidy mechanism having been active since 2019. The budget and official statement were published by Interfax citing the government press service.
To put it plainly: the state is subsidizing an overland bypass—transporting grain by rail to ports in other basins—rather than southern terminal repairs. For cargo owners moving agricultural commodities in containers, this translates into a rate discount along the domestic inland leg.
New transport legs via St. Petersburg, Vrangel, and Astrakhan
FESCO, part of the Rosatom management structure, launched its maiden voyage from St. Petersburg to Turkey. The vessel departed on August 24, 2026, carrying Russian export cargo to Ambarli near Istanbul and Gebze, while loading containerized Turkish imports on the return leg. The group plans to turn this into a regular liner service deployed across multiple container vessels. According to German Maslov, Vice President of the Liner and Logistics Division, the market urgently requires alternative shipping solutions between Russia and Turkey. Details of the service were reported by PortNews citing FESCO's press release. The Turkish routing has effectively shifted from the Black Sea to the Baltic—longer in transit, but free from the risk of sudden booking cancellations.
In the east, another service was launched on August 27. Global Ports' Far Eastern terminal in Vrangel Bay began handling Eurosib's scheduled container service connecting to the Chinese ports of Qingdao and Ningbo. Operated by the 1,150 TEU container ship Hong Li Chang Jiu, port calls at Vrangel occur at least twice monthly, offering transit times of 4 days to Ningbo and 8 days to Qingdao. Inbound import containers are dispatched from the terminal via accelerated container block trains to distribution centers in Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Moscow, and St. Petersburg. The terminal's annual throughput capacity stands at 700,000 TEU.
The third alternative is the Caspian corridor. According to operational figures from the Astrakhan Regional Government, the ports of Astrakhan and Olya handled 4.2 million tons during January–July 2026, marking a 79% increase year-on-year. Astrakhan accounted for 3.6 million tons (up 71%), while Olya expanded throughput more than threefold to 0.6 million tons. Grain makes up 45% of total cargo turnover, cement transshipment rose 2.3 times, imports grew by 22%, and exports surged by 54%, with the primary destination, Iran, remaining fully active. Vessel calls increased by 26%, totaling 7,200 calls over seven months. By July, the Caspian route had reached volume levels it had never witnessed before.
Kraskino border crossing opens under a temporary scheme
On August 28, the government announced the reopening of the Kraskino road freight and passenger border checkpoint in Primorsky Krai following reconstruction. The corresponding directive was signed by Mikhail Mishustin on August 27. Key facilities and auxiliary structures for state border control have been completed, but traffic is proceeding under a temporary setup. Full design capacity is expected upon completion of all construction stages in Q1 2027. That will enable handling 750 vehicles per day across 16 traffic lanes, 10 of which are dedicated to freight trucks.
However, that design capacity applies to 2027, not September. While throughput on the Chinese border is expanding, it is still too early to factor Kraskino into September trucking logistics as an unburdened crossing.
From September 1, transport documents are accepted exclusively in electronic format
Starting September 1, 2026, all freight logistics stakeholders must issue transport documentation in digital format. This requirement applies to waybills, trucking orders and shipping requests, railway consignment notes, air waybills, and freight forwarding documents. Paper documentation is permitted only under approved exceptions, such as force majeure, lack of internet access, special cargoes, transactions with foreign contractors, and personal shipments. Vladimir Putin instructed authorities to limit enforcement to oral warnings until March 1, 2027, when a paper document is presented instead of an electronic one. The regulatory changes were analyzed by TKS.RU citing TASS.
This grace period is easy to misunderstand: it waives road fines, but does not lift the obligation to operate via the GIS EPD electronic document system. A waybill drawn up on paper without legitimate legal grounds will not enter the system, meaning it cannot be used to validate expenses or tax deductions. The system had operated in voluntary mode since September 2022, connecting over 25,000 businesses, including X5, Magnit, Ozon, Delovye Linii, and Russian Post. If your counterparty is not integrated with the platform, digital document exchange for that specific shipment will fail for all parties along the supply chain. You should clarify their certified EDI operator status upfront before launching your first shipment.
Due to damage, 584,000 sq. m of warehouse space went offline
Ricci revised its commercial warehouse forecast for Moscow and the Moscow Region. Total lease and purchase transaction volume could expand by 8% year-on-year to 1.5 million sq. m by year-end. The market had previously anticipated a downturn, with NF Group forecasting a 20–30% drop to 1.1–1.3 million sq. m. The reassessment comes after 584,000 sq. m of warehouse inventory was taken offline by August due to infrastructure damages, forcing major marketplaces to lease operational properties to quickly restore operational capacity. Consulting calculations were published by Kommersant based on data from Ricci and IBC Real Estate.
Tenants, however, retain negotiation leverage. Vacancy rates are still projected to rise by 3 percentage points year-on-year to 7.7%, unaffected by lost space due to logistics parks entering the market after years of construction. According to IBC Real Estate, rental rates are expected to drop by 9.5% to 9,500 rubles per sq. m annually, while new completions will rise by 11% to 2.3 million sq. m. Demand is surging not from overall trade expansion, but from replacing offline footprint—a distinction that favors tenants negotiating commercial rental terms today.
What to do with September shipments
The southern corridor is offline not for days, but for a period NKHP measures in months, with the government already underwriting overland rail detours.
Secure September slots via the Baltic, Vrangel, or the Caspian, and do not rely on Kraskino as an uncongested checkpoint in your transport schedules. Review whether your containerized agricultural shipments qualify for state preferential freight tariffs. Issue your initial September waybills through GIS EPD, even if road transport inspectors currently limit enforcement to verbal warnings. And if you are actively leasing storage space for safety inventory, negotiate firmly: warehouse market rates are trending downward.