MOSCOW, March 3. /TASS/. The Northern Supplies' cargo, which will be delivered by the unified maritime operator (UMO) to five Far Eastern regions in 2026, will amount to between 233 and 801 thousand tons, that is between 6 and 20% of the total volume, Minister for Development of the Far East and Arctic Alexey Chekunkov told TASS.

The creation of a single maritime operator from January 1, 2026 is provided for by the federal law On Northern Supplies, where Rosatom Arctic is appointed the unified maritime operator.

"Cooperation agreements with UMO on the Northern Supplies delivery in 2026 have been concluded with Yakutia, Chukotka, the Khabarovsk, Kamchatka and Sakhalin Regions. According to preliminary estimates, the cargo traffic varies in the range of 233-801 thousand tons, which is 6-20% of the Northern Supplies' goods due in those regions in 2026. Final data will be available after the procurement campaign," the minister said.

He pointed to UMO's strategic importance in increasing efficiency of cargo delivery under Northern Supplies - the operator eliminates risks of disrupting deliveries, improves transportation efficiency, and allows long-term conditions for interaction with regional customers.

"Transportation costs make up a significant share of goods' prices. We can see the recent tendency of increasing transport cost due to the shortage of ships of the appropriate class," the minister continued. "UMO has regulated tariffs, based on contracts for up to three years, and thus scaling up the service is aimed at ensuring available transport services and curbing higher cost of transporting fuel and energy resources."

Pilot project in Chukotka

A pilot project to deliver goods to the Chukotka Autonomous Region began in 2025. It is implemented by the unified marine operator - Rosatom Arctic. According to the minister, since beginning of the current Arctic navigation, the operator has delivered 159,200 tons of cargo to Chukotka, where 152,400 are oil, and 6,800 are container cargoes. The Northern Supplies plan has been fully implemented.

"It is for the first time in recent five years, that UMO delivered the cargoes to Chukotka in full before November began, that is, before the active ice formation on the Northern Sea Route, thus the operator did not have to use icebreaking vessels, which could have increased the final cost of goods by the amount of icebreaking fee," the minister added.

Northern Supplies is a set of measures to supply uninterruptedly basic vital goods to the Far North. Deliveries there are subject to a number of restrictions in complicated climate conditions. Supplies are organized by air, river and sea transport, including along the Northern Sea Route.