BEIJING, June 11. /TASS/. Russia and China, through joint efforts, can achieve progress in increasing the volume of cargo shipped along the Northern Sea Route, Alexey Chekunkov, Minister of the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, said in an interview with the Chinese newspaper Global Times.
"I believe that by combining Chinese navigational and technological capabilities, and by combining our traditional ice-breaking fleet and Russian ports, we can achieve significant progress in growing the volume of cargo shipped by a Northern Sea Route," the minister stressed.
Chekunkov recalled, that recently a Chinese company NewNew Shipping Line has performed several round trips on the Northern Sea Route. "This proves that the Northern Sea Route can work," he added.
According to him, at the current stage Russia and China face the task "to increase the frequency and the tonnage of the transit route so that the cargo volume of the Northern Sea Route continues increasing."
Chekunkov drew attention to the fact that the corridor through Arctic for supplies between Europe and Asia is 40% shorter than the traditional corridor via Suez Channel. It is also much safer.
"We know that the Middle East now is not a quiet place. Unfortunately, it has various threats and risks to navigation that the Northern Sea Route does not have," he added.
The minister recalled that due to ice in winter, transporting goods through the Arctic still poses significant difficulties.
"We are developing the strongest ice-breaking fleet that the world has. We are ready to put this fleet to use for all international customers, including the Chinese ones to facilitate transit, moving goods, container ships, and cargo ships between Europe and Asia," he concluded.