The deficit of the fleet to ensure cargo traffic on the Northern Sea Route is estimated at 53%, Kommersant reports with reference to the presentation of the Efficient Transport System national project.
The document indicates that 57 vessels are needed for the cargo flow of the Northern Sea Route in 2024. Only 47% are available.
For 2023, the provision of the fleet is complete. Last year, 30 vessels were operated on the Northern Sea Route, including 17 Novatek gas carriers and tankers, seven Gazprom Neft oil tankers and six Norilsk Nickel vessels.
In 2024, the Arctic fleet was planned to be replenished with 16 tankers for Novatek, nine bulk carriers for the transportation of North Star coal and two oil tankers for Vostok Oil. But the Arctic LNG-2 project fell under US sanctions, which is why Novatek cannot receive six vessels ordered from the Korean Hanwha Ocean.
Of the 15 tankers under construction at the Zvezda shipyard, five were supposed to be handed over to the company, but the delivery date was repeatedly postponed. The publication notes that the first tanker from the Novatek batch may be received by the end of this year, and the second – in early 2025, b-port.com reports.
Alex Shishlo, Editor in Chief of the European Bureau, Rough&Polished
