Mongolia has 397 kilometers of navigable waterways, principally on Hovsgol Nuur and on the Selenge Moron, which are passable only five months of the year. These water routes were used to transport cargo--grain, agricultural machinery, industrial equipment, lumber, consumer goods, and fuel--to and from the Soviet Union. On Hovsgol Nuur, a fleet of freighters, barges, and tugs connected Turt, which had a road link to the Soviet Union, with Hatgal on the south shore. Mongolia's shipping fleet was built with the assistance of Soviet shipbuilders. In 1985 water transport carried 40,000 tons of cargo and 4.8 million ton-kilometers, or 0.1 percent of all freight turnover. Inland waterways did not carry passenger traffic.

Data as of June 1989