EMEA News
Big Growth Predicted for Northern Sea Route
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday that shipping on the Arctic Northern Sea Route (NSR) is poised for major growth as thawing sea ice makes the area more welcoming, the Moscow Times reports.
Speaking at an international conference on the Barents Sea, Medvedev said shipping could more than double, while Mikhail Belkin, an adviser at Russian nuclear icebreaker fleet Atomflot, said use of the route could rise from about 1.24 million tonnes of cargo last year to 40 million tonnes by 2021.
Ship & Bunker has been told that the use of the NSR reduces travel time between Europe and Asia, and fuel consumption, by up to 40 percent.
"Russia clearly sees the opportunity and is trying to take advantage of it," Belkin said.
Of the 40 million tonnes of cargo Belkin anticipates moving through the route, 15 million tonnes will consist of goods moving between Europe and Asia, while another 15 million will be liquefied natural gas (LNG) being transported from the Yamal Peninsula, and 10 million will be oil cargo moving out of Gazprom's Novoportovskoye field in Siberia.
Ice hit a historic low on the route last fall, and scientists say it could begin seeing summers with no ice at all at some point between 2030 and 2040.
Voyages through the NSR already jumped from four in 2010 to 46 last year.
