/ world today news/ These days, Russia will deploy another new Russian nuclear icebreaker. This is the third of six planned. Without them, the development of the Northern Sea Route is impossible. The Suez Canal rival is growing rapidly – and for the first time thanks to transit cargo. But this year the plan is even more ambitious. Will SMP manage to more than double its cargo turnover?
Russia continues to build nuclear icebreakers and increase cargo traffic on the Northern Sea Route. Another Russian nuclear icebreaker from project 22220 will be laid down on January 26, announced the special representative of the state corporation “Rosatom” for the development of the Arctic, Vladimir Panov. This is the third such icebreaker.
Universal nuclear icebreakers under project 22220 – the most powerful in the world – are being built at the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg. The delivery of the third icebreaker of project 22220 is planned for December 2024, the fourth in December 2026, the fifth in 2028 and the sixth in 2030.
The first nuclear icebreaker “Arctika” was laid down in November 2013 and launched in June 2016. It entered the nuclear fleet in October 2020. The second, “Ural”, was launched in 2019. The icebreakers of project 22220 are designed to escort ships in the Arctic, Yenisei and the Gulf of Ob.
Freight traffic on the Northern Sea Route (NSR) in 2023 is expected to grow to a record level of 36 million tons. In 2022, there were 34 million tons. The target for last year and this year is 32 million tons. That is, the plan is overfilled. At the same time, in 2024, cargo traffic should increase more than twice – to 80 million tons. The development of a competitor to the Suez Strait is, of course, impossible without nuclear icebreakers, since the Arctic seas are covered with a thick layer of ice for most of the year.
“Russia is a world leader in the construction of nuclear icebreakers and has the world’s largest fleet of nuclear icebreakers, the expansion of which allows us to strengthen the country’s position in the Arctic,” notes Anastasia Prikladova, associate professor of the Department of International Business at the Russian University of Economics ” Plekhanov”.
“Building icebreakers allows us to support local shipbuilding, contributes to the development of technology and helps create parts and components for other types of ships. The possibility of building icebreakers speaks about the level of technological development in the country and provides orders for other sectors of the economy,” says Dmitry Baranov, leading expert at Finam Management.
In addition, the development of the Northern Sea Route is an important part of the national strategy. On the one hand, the transport accessibility of Russian regions is expanding, and on the other, an additional source of income is formed as a result of the operation of the route by foreign companies, adds Prikladova.
The Northern Sea Route is gaining momentum every year. And in 2023, a new transport record was set. And if previously the SMP was used primarily by Russian companies for oil transportation, then in 2023 there will be an unprecedented increase in transit cargo. Thanks to them, the total freight turnover increased from 34 to 36 million tons. Transportation of transit cargo increased more than nine times – from 230 thousand tons to 2.2 million tons.
“In 2023, the number of foreign companies using the Northern Sea Route doubled – 115 against 55, which contributed to an increase in the total number of issued permits for navigation in the waters of the SMP by 4.7% – from 1163 to 1218. The transit was mainly for oil – about 70%. Other products include iron ore concentrate and LNG,” says Prikladova. And of course, the main foreign user of the Northern Sea Route as a transit for their cargo is China.
The increase in transit cargo on the Northern Sea Route may be due to the fact that consumers appreciated the convenience of this route, the speed of delivery and the cost of transportation along it, as well as the difficulties on other international routes, Baranov does not rule out.
According to the expert, it is important for Russia to develop this route, including in connection with the redirection to trade with the countries of the East, as this will reduce the load on traditional transport routes. Therefore, the task is set to increase transport on the NSR to 80 million tons this year and to 130 million tons by 2035. However, experts doubt that this year’s plan will be fulfilled.
“Against the background of the growing mutual trade between the Russian Federation and the PRC, as well as the congestion of the railway lines, the potential of the SMP is high. But even so, more than doubling freight traffic by the end of 2024 seems a very ambitious goal. Unless the Suez Canal is blocked by a ship again, and then more than once. But against the background of anti-Russian sanctions, economic problems in the EU, which is China’s main foreign trade partner, we should not expect the full realization of the transit potential of the SMP,” says Anastasia Prikladova.
In addition, a significant amount of work needs to be done on the SMP route, and in rather difficult conditions, which also takes time. “This includes the construction of facilities that provide navigation on the SMP, and the construction of piers in the Arctic regions, dredging, construction of energy facilities, road infrastructure, communications and so on. – all this will increase the volume of traffic on the SMP”, concludes Baranov.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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