The Russian deputy Prime Minister support to the upcoming restrictions on the Russian Arctic shipping route. The bill will allow only ships built in Russia and carrying Russian flag to sail on the route. The regulation to come into force on 1 January 2019.
As Mr. Borisov said the Northern Sea Route is Russian coastal waters, so Russia wants to support its shipbuilders.
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However, there will be made exceptions, while the sailing route will not be consequently fully closed for foreign-built ships. Namely, Russia will be issuing permissions to foreign vessels and shipping companies.
Russia has made the NSR a priority, as the Kremlin wants to develop the route and increase annual goods volumes on the route to 80 million tons by 2024.
There is more traffic in this route lately as during summer the ice decreases. In fact, oil and gas cargoes are making the journey, as choosing the Northern Sea Route, journey times between Asia and Europe can be reduced by up to two weeks.
Recently, the container ship ‘Venta Maersk’ has successfully sailed through the Northern Sea Route of the Arctic Ocean. Escorted by a nuclear icebreaker, it followed the Northern Sea Route up until the Bering Strait, and then travelled along Russia’s north coast, into the Norwegian Sea.
In July, Russian natural gas producers Novatek informed that it shipped its first cargo of LNG from the Yamal LNG project to China via the Northern Sea Route. The voyage time from the port of Sabetta through the Northern Sea Route to the destination port was completed in 19 days as compared to 35 days for the traditional eastern route via the Suez Canal and the Strait of Malacca.
In addition, Christophe de Margerie, the icebreaking LNG carrier owned and operated by Russian Sovcomflot (SCF Group), has crossed the Northern Sea Route (NSR) in a new record time for a merchant ship without icebreaker support, during July.
