The head of the Ministry for the Development of the Far East announced the shortage of icebreakers for the Northern Sea Route

The head of the Ministry for the Development of the Far East, Alexei Chekunkov, said that the traffic along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) remains high, but there are not enough icebreakers for its development, and all over the world. According to him, in 2022, 34 million tons of cargo were delivered via the NSR, and the same number is planned to be delivered in 2023. Passenger traffic on the route is expected to more than double by the end of 2024, to 80 million tons, and by 2031 to 200 million tons.

Mr. Chekunkov in an interview RBC noted that “the greatest concern is precisely the availability of a sufficient number of ice-class fleet.” “It’s just that in the world so far it is not available in the volume that is necessary to transport 200 million tons in seven to eight years. And the production cycle of a large ice-class tanker is not months, but years,” the minister explained.

He called the lack of production capacity a key problem. As the head of the Ministry for the Development of the Far East specified, the issue of a sufficient number of both shipyards and specialists is now being discussed “with our largest partners.” In particular, negotiations are underway with India and China. “India is interested in joint work on the development of northern navigation and potentially in joint shipbuilding … Of course, China. Somewhere together, we will be able to produce an ice-class fleet in sufficient quantities,” believes Aleksey Chekunkov.

Under sanctions, Russian oil companies are increasingly trying to use the Northern Sea Route (NSR) to supply Urals from Baltic ports. Theoretically, such a route to Asia could be shorter and cheaper than the traditional route through the Suez Canal. At the end of August, according to Reuters, Gazprom first sent LNG from the Baltic along the NSR.

Details – in the material “Kommersant” “Barrel Breaks the Ice”.

Laura Keffer