The capacity of shipping on the Russian Arctic sea route is on the increase, according to estimates from Dmitry Kobylkin, the Minister of National Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation. Beginning with five million tonnes of cargo, the route supported shipments totalling almost 35 million tonnes at the time of the announcement in April 2019. By 2024, this figure could exceed 80 million tonnes in the northernmost territorial waters. Kobylkin made the announcement as part of a call to action to the Russian government to provide significant state investment to the Arctic. Former Deputy Minister of Transport for the Russian Federation Victor Olerskiy previously paved the way for Arctic shipping routes to be opened up during the time of the drafting of the Polar Code in 2014, as part of a collaboration between various members of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). The group of IMO members announced that measures to prevent Arctic shipping would not be implemented.
Arctic Shipping Countries
There are five countries in the world that currently have a claim on Arctic shipping routes, being Russia, Canada, the United States, Denmark and Norway. Since the implementation of the Polar Code, Russia has taken many steps to grow its fleet and enter Arctic waters. In the infographic attachment, view key facts about the Arktika, Russia’s biggest icebreaker to date at the time of launch in June 2016. There are five Arctic shipping routes at present, although most are inaccessible for large parts of the year due to ice floes.
The Northeast Passage and the Northern Sea Route are the two that lie largely in Russian waters. The Northeast Passage provides access to the largest of the Russian Arctic ports, Murmansk. The Northern Sea Route runs along the coast of Russia and Siberia, connecting the Bering Strait with the Kara Sea. The short video looks at how the ice floes are currently affecting potential shipping routes in the Arctic region.
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| Russia’s Biggest Icebreaker: The Arktika |
The Northeast Passage and the Northern Sea Route are the two that lie largely in Russian waters. The Northeast Passage provides access to the largest of the Russian Arctic ports, Murmansk. The Northern Sea Route runs along the coast of Russia and Siberia, connecting the Bering Strait with the Kara Sea. The short video looks at how the ice floes are currently affecting potential shipping routes in the Arctic region.
Russia’s Mineral Resource Plan
A broad plan on perspectives on mineral resources in the Arctic region of Russia was released by the country’s government in March 2019, outlining 118 individual projects with a key focus on the processing of oil, coal, liquefied natural gas, condensate and minerals. The plan looks further at possibilities for shipping these minerals along the Northern Sea Route. Proposals are also included on the development of a variety of related industries such as tourism, ecology, ship-building and more. The plan estimates completion of the projects by 2030 and the projected costs will be around 10.5 trillion rubles, or the equivalent of US$163 billion.
Northern Sea Route Investment
A second announcement was made around the time of Kobylkin’s cargo capacity announcement. Rosatom Aleksey Likhachev, the chief executive of the Russian state nuclear energy corporation, stated that investments into the development of the Northern Sea Route of Russia would exceed 735 billion rubles, which is the equivalent of $11.3 billion. A new federal project has been approved to develop the Arctic sea passage, with findings coming from both the state and private energy companies. The investment from the involved corporations will finance infrastructure including new ports and adjoining facilities, as well as access ways and ice-proof constructions. The balance of funding between the state and corporate investors was commended as a highlight by Likhachev.
The PDF attachment provides an overview of some of the other biggest news headlines regarding development of the Northern Sea Route in recent months.
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| Northern Sea Route News Headlines, March 2019 |
