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Northern Sea Route may take up to 10% of Suez Canal traffic — Rosatom

According to Deputy CEO of Rosatom Vyacheslav Ruksha, NSR will not compete with transportation over the Suez Canal

MURMANSK, January 25. /TASS/. The Northern Sea Route (NSR) will be able to take about 10% of freight traffic from the Suez Canal over time but year-round shipping over NSR is needed for other tasks, Deputy CEO of Rosatom Vyacheslav Ruksha told TASS.

"The cargo traffic is clear - it will in the best case 10% of carriage over the Suez Canal. Actually, this is enough. 1 bln tonnes [per year] is there, that is [10% means] 100 mln tonnes. If appropriate vessels are built and icebreakers are added. We add new capabilities in the first instance," the top manager said.

NSR will not compete with transportation over the Suez Canal, Ruksha said. "If you pay attention, I have never spoke about competition. We provide a new way for other tasks," he noted.

NSR is primarily intended for export cargo transportation from Russia, the top manager said. "In the forecast traffic of 150 mln [tonnes per year], 110 mln tonnes [annually] are our national export of liquefied gas, crude oil, coal, and metal group [commodities]," Ruksha added.