Year-round navigation in the eastern sector of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) will begin before the end of 2024, said Gadzhimagomed Huseynov, First Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.
The eastern sector of the NSR includes the Laptev Sea, the East Siberian and Chukchi Seas.
"The key challenge to achieve the planned volume of cargo traffic through the NSR is to ensure the timely construction of all planned vessels of the cargo and icebreaker fleet under the imposed sanctions restrictions. Today, ten icebreakers are operating in the waters of the NSR, seven of which are nuclear-powered. It is planned to start year-round navigation by high-ice class vessels in the eastern sector of the Northern Sea Route this year," Huseynov said at the Maritime Congress in Vladivostok.
According to him, 9 more icebreakers are to be built by 2030, including the flagship of the Arctic fleet, the nuclear icebreaker Rossiya. The total demand for cargo ships for the implementation of key investment projects in the Arctic is more than 120 units of marine transport, the construction of which is provided for in the long-term plan for the construction of civil vessels until 2035.
Investments in the development of the NSR are envisaged in the amount of up to two trillion rubles until 2035. Last year, a record volume of 36 million tons of cargo was transported along the key transport corridor. In future, cargo traffic should exceed 150 million tons by 2030 and more than 200 million tons by 2035.
The Far East Maritime Congress is held every two years and serves as a platform for developing joint solutions for the development of the marine industry, tass.ru reports.
Alex Shishlo, Chief Editor of the European Bureau, Rough&Polished
