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Northern Sea Route serves growing amounts of transit cargo

The total amount of cargo containers, which the Northern Sea Route may serve could be 455,000

MOSCOW, December 6. /TASS/. The number of transit voyages along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) has grown by 1.5 times in the current year, press service of the Ministry on Development of the Far East said referring to Deputy Minister Pavel Volkov.

"As of November 1, 2017, along the Northern Sea Route have gone 28 transit voyages, which means a growth by 1.5 times year-on-year," he told the international forum The Arctic: Present and Future on Wednesday. "The cargo transported via the ports along the NST is eight million tonnes, which is by 10% more year-on-year. <…>"

"We consider it possible to use the Northern Sea Route as an additional line for transporting cargo containers between Asia and Northern Europe, as well as for transporting a part of the Russian cargo, which now is using Transsib (Trans-Siberian railway)," the press service quoted the deputy minister as saying.

According to the press service, using the Northern Sea Route cuts distance and time, and it may undertake serving the routes, where at least 10% of the costs may be saved. As yet, this is applicable to 17 routes with the total cargo turnover of about 60 million tonnes. If the Northern Sea Route undertakes serving the routes, where the distance cuts by 25% or more, the transportation along NSR may take 10% of the cargo containers from Asia to Russia and 5% of the international transit market from Asia to Europe. The total amount of cargo containers, which the Northern Sea Route may serve could be 455,000 containers, the press service added.

"A long-term option of using NSR as an international transport corridor is confirmed during the talks with foreign investors and leading marine companies - Cosco, Maersk," the press service quoted the official as saying. "Foreign ship owners confirm using NSR for transportation of up to twelve million tonnes by 2028, and it may grow to 25 million later on."

"Right now, together with the Far East’s Agency for attracting investments and support of the export, we cooperate actively with Hyundai Merchant Marine and Cosco in possible boost of the turnover on that direction," the deputy minister added.

Earlier, TASS wrote that after the first Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok in September 2015, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ordered to the Ministry on Development of the Far East to offer a financial-economic model for development of the Northern Sea Route as a global transport corridor.

About the forum

The seventh international forum - The Arctic: Present and Future - is working in St. Petersburg on December 4-6. This time, the event’s key topics are development of the Arctic backbone zones, and the social and economic development of the Polar territories. The forum’s organizer is the Association of Polar Explorers inter-regional non-governmental organization.