The Northern sea route – future highway transportation in the Asia-Pacific region. The Minister of industry and trade of Russia Denis Manturov said that the Ministry of transport and the Ministry of defence of Russia has developed a program for the development and use of the Northern sea route aimed at improving the economic feasibility of navigation and development of all the necessary infrastructure, reports Interfax.
“The program, which is the Ministry of transport and the Ministry of defence, will ensure the passage of commercial vessels through the Northern sea route. This will provide additional economic incentives in General and for transport operators who will haul cargo. This, of course, more profitable by reducing sea route”, – said Manturov.
For the implementation of these programmes laid and built several new icebreakers – including the world’s most powerful icebreakers of LK-60Я (project 22220) with a nuclear power plant. Three of these icebreaker has already been laid and built specifically for the maintenance of navigation along the Northern sea route and expeditions to the Arctic. Besides them, on the Russian shipyards are being built and a few icebreakers with nuclear power plant.
Attention to the Northern sea route from Russia is not accidental and is due to several factors. The Northern sea route is the shortest route from Europe to the Asia-Pacific region, being more than two times shorter than the traditional route through the Suez canal and the Indian Ocean (5,7 thousand thousand, versus a 12.8 nautical miles). In addition, the observed on the planet, global warming reduces the thickness of Arctic ice and lengthens the period of navigation along the Northern sea route. The use of the latest powerful nuclear icebreakers that are under construction in Russia, will make the browsing experience almost year-round.
Successful implementation of such a program will allow Russia to become a major transit country, has the only fleet of nuclear icebreakers. In addition, Russia will get the opportunity to come to the very large Asian market liquefied natural gas, which today dominates Qatar, providing due to shorter transport shoulder lower its cost and, therefore, having a competitive advantage.
