A Study on the Positioning Analysis for Seaports in the Far East of the Russian Federation

The Far East of the Russian Federation serves as a pivotal geopolitical and logistical hub connecting Russia with the dynamic economies of the Asia-Pacific. Functioning as Russia's eastern gateway, the region supports the nation's foreign trade through its seaports, which handle the majority of export flows to Asia. Despite these substantial contributions, there is scant research suggested on individual seaports of the Russian Far East. This study aims to fill the existing gaps by examining strategic positioning, competitive interactions, and the systemic roles of five major seaports in the region. Using annual throughput data from 2015-2024 and applying CR(k), HHI, the Gini coefficient with Lorenz curve, SSA, and the BCG matrix, the analysis clarified their relative positions within the regional port system. The CR(3) values for Far Eastern seaports remained consistently high at 75-80% from 2015 to 2024, confirming a strongly concentrated market. The shift effect results reveal uneven port competitiveness: Vladivostok consistently gains relative advantage, while Vostochny and Prigorodnoye show the weakest performance. The results of this research contribute to port system studies by demonstrating how a dominant duopoly can gradually evolve into a multi-nodal structure under shifting competitiveness and regional growth.