A total of 18,4 million tons of goods were handled in Sabetta in the period, figures from the Association of Russian Seaports show.

The growth in Sabetta is driven by the shipments of LNG from Novatek's Yamal LNG plant. A fleet of 15 major ice-class Arc7 carriers will by the end of the year shuttle to the terminal to pick up the liquified natural gas.

Also in Murmansk, the growth in shipping continues. In the first 8 months of the year, the increase was 3,6 percent. The port in the Kola Bay in the period handled 41,5 million tons. That includes coal, construction materials and processed materials produced by the region's powerful mining and metallurgic industry.

The positive development in Murmansk follows a year with major growth. In 2018, the regional terminals had their best year in several decades. More than 60,7 million tons of goods were then handled by the Murmansk port installations, an increase of 18,1 percent more than the previous year.