Osterra Terminal’s Digital Pulse
Testing has begun on an upgraded industrial control system at the Osterra cargo terminal in Vaninsky District, Khabarovsk Territory. How well this digital “nervous system” performs will determine the terminal’s ability to handle up to 40 million metric tons of coal a year – and, in effect, the flow of traffic through the region’s entire export infrastructure.
The upgrade became necessary after the terminal connected a new triple railcar dumper and began planning an expansion of its capacity. The operator, Port Alliance Management Company, is focusing on programmable logic controllers, servers, input/output modules, control cabinets and communications lines. The centerpiece is a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system, which will enable centralized production oversight, equipment-status monitoring and the logging of abnormal events. The control algorithms were developed with input from Chinese developers and tailored to the needs of the Russian facility.
The project’s practical value lies in more reliable cargo handling, a lower risk of downtime and coordinated operations across the entire chain, from unloading railcars to loading coal onto ships. That should strengthen the Russian Far East’s export infrastructure and improve the efficiency of shipments to countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
Growth Trajectory
The upgrade of the existing control system at the Osterra port is scheduled for completion by the end of 2026. In April 2027, the new railcar dumper and conveyor lines are expected to be connected to the system, with additional capacity scheduled to come online by the end of 2027.
Similar systems could be scaled up for other terminals, including facilities handling coal, mineral fertilizers, ore and other bulk cargoes. At the Port Favor terminal in Ust-Luga, for example, engineers are developing a digital control framework designed to automate up to 90% of operations.
Russia already has domestic expertise in port-logistics management systems. In 2024, for example, the Solvo.TOS platform handled about 45% of the country’s seaborne container traffic. That points to the export potential of Russian IT solutions, although Solvo.TOS belongs to the terminal operating system (TOS) category and does not replace SCADA.
Further development is likely to follow international trends, particularly the shift toward comprehensive remote operations. The Chinese port of Yangshan, for example, already uses 5G, the Internet of Things and remote equipment control. For Russian projects, it offers a model for the next stage: moving beyond automating individual tasks toward end-to-end digital management of port facilities.
Looking Back: 2021–2026
Russian IT solutions for port logistics have been in development for several years.
In 2021, Vostochny Port upgraded its dust-collection system, linking the equipment through a fiber-optic network and centralizing control at an operator console. In 2022, Portenergo’s terminal in Ust-Luga launched a digital twin of its liquefied petroleum gas handling complex. Using machine learning, the system modeled operating conditions and optimized energy consumption. In 2023, an automated rail classification hump began operating at the Panagia station in the Port of Taman. The Russian-developed SKA-SP system controlled switches and retarders, cutting the time needed to break up a train consist by a factor of three. In 2024, Solvo upgraded its Solvo.TOS platform for Novorosslesexport, integrating it with Russian Railways systems and adding support for different types of cargo. In 2025, a domestically developed industrial control system for ammonia handling went live at the Port Favor terminal in Ust-Luga, overseeing receipt, storage and shipment. The 2026 Osterra project continues this progression, moving from automation of individual components toward a unified control framework connecting existing and new infrastructure.
The Next Step
Upgrading Osterra’s industrial control system is more than an equipment refresh. It is an infrastructure IT project that will affect how the expanded terminal operates. Successful implementation could allow the facility to increase capacity to 40 million metric tons of cargo a year without disruptions between existing and new lines.
The project underscores the value of developing industrial platforms, supervisory control tools, production analytics and systems that integrate different types of equipment. The next stage could bring predictive diagnostics, digital twins and intelligent transport planning – technologies already being introduced at Russian terminals.
