Northern Sea Route: New Challenges

The Northern Sea Route is an icy Trans-Siberian Railway. [...] Despite our best efforts, the Transsib does have a limit, and that’s around 220 million tonnes — Igor Levitin, Aide to the President of the Russian Federation; Secretary, State Council of the Russian Federation.

The development of the Northern Sea Route is a huge factor in the development of the Russian economy. [...] This transport corridor needs to be used to connect territories and not only as a window for export, something especially important in these difficult times of external political, economic, and logistical pressure — Alexey Likhachev, Director General, State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM.

This corridor is extremely important to the world because of the current international situation. The traditional sea lanes between East Asia and Europe are becoming increasingly tense. In certain scenarios, the routes could experience dramatic disruptions. We are talking about huge amounts of cargo, supplying three billion people with imports, primarily food, and exporting all the goods produced in East and South Asia. That’s why the NSR is such an important alternative — Alexey Chekunkov, Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.

The disruption of global supply chains, especially during a pandemic, minor disruptions to shipping in the Suez Canal lead to global supply disruptions. [...] The Northern Sea Route is a much shorter route. It’s cheaper, and the time saved is enormous — Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, DP World.

Effective technological solutions tell us that year-round navigation on the Northern Sea Route will soon be a reality — Sergey Frank, Chairman of the Council of Participants in Navigation on the NSR; Chairman of the Board of Directors, Sovcomflot.

Although the Northern Sea Route is short, the environment is not to be taken lightly. [...] Many serious efforts are required to sail 5–6 times with greater intensity. The Russian Government has taken two decisions that will make a great difference – to revive the Northern Sea Route Authority and centralize these functions and to adopt the Northern Sea Route Unified Development Strategy — Alexey Chekunkov, Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.

The business community is counting on increased scientific support for Arctic projects. There are so many contradictory [natural – Ed.] phenomena — Sergey Frank, Chairman of the Council of Participants in Navigation on the NSR; Chairman of the Board of Directors, Sovcomflot.

Automated ice forecasts are 70% accurate. Is that good or bad? Not good enough. We’re looking at almost 90%, which our Russian satellites can ensure. [...] By launching new ones and upgrading the existing Roshydromet network, it will be possible to reach 90% accuracy with automated forecasts — Sergey Anoprienko, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation.

So many competent people are needed for these projects to be implemented. [...] Resolving the task by attracting [personnel – Ed.] is no easy task. The main task is to educate and train people in the Arctic itself. To do so, we need serious investment in education — Andrey Chibis, Governor of Murmansk Region.

The President’s Far East subsidy programme [...] has been extended to include the Arctic zone. It’s just RUB 7.5 billion for now, but that’s a resource too. We will definitely extend the work we are doing on cities in the Far East [to include the Arctic – Ed.] — Alexey Chekunkov, Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.

We have established rules for companies extracting minerals but not for international transit. [...] We need to establish rules for ships under foreign jurisdiction transiting through the Northern Sea Route, and we need to do it quickly. [...] If we hold up [the flow – Ed.], we will lose out on new opportunities — Igor Levitin, Aide to the President of the Russian Federation; Secretary, State Council of the Russian Federation.

It’s not easy doing business in the Arctic. It requires that the state assume some of the risk. And the state is taking some on – even in spite of a difficult budgetary situation, investment continues in infrastructure, communications systems, and the construction of icebreakers — Alexey Likhachev, Director General, State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM.

I would say Russia’s main task is to make the Northern Sea Route accessible by rail and inland waterway. If we leave it for transit only, the desired effect will be lacking. Many enterprises in Siberia, the Far East, and the Northwest need to find ways to the eastern corridor, to the Trans-Siberian Railway — Igor Levitin, Aide to the President of the Russian Federation; Secretary, State Council of the Russian Federation.