MOSCOW, March 13. /TASS/. Moscow would like not only to use the Northern Sea Route (NSR) for domestic needs, but also to attract the attention of other countries to this route, Russian Presidential Aide, Chairman of the Maritime Board Nikolay Patrushev said.

Among the most important tasks that our state is facing is enhancing the competitiveness of the Northern Sea Route not only in the domestic Russian or regional but also in the global scale," he said in an interview with the National Defense magazine.

The NSR is a convenient route for coastal shipping, which has no alternative routes, Patrushev said. "Moreover, we can carry cargoes both from the West to the East and vice versa. It is possible to carry marine bioresources caught in the Pacific Ocean using appropriate vessels," he said.

The formation of a single economic and transport-logistics space as part of a new federal project named ‘Development of the Great Northern Sea Route’ has started this year, Patrushev noted, adding that it will allow linking Russia’s northwest to the Far East, and increase transport security.

"In the pipeline are expanding the possibilities of seaports and terminals, both directly along the Northern Sea Route and in cities and settlements where cargoes should be reloaded onto river and railway transport," he explained.

The Northern Sea Route is the shortest water route between Russia’s European part and the Far East. The route’s length is 5,600 km, stretching from the Kara Strait to Providence Bay. That said, it is fully located in territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone of Russia.