Northern Sea Route. Ports of the Northern Sea Route. Development, significance and development of the Northern Sea Route

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Russia owns significant maritime territories in the Arctic. The Northern Sea Route (NSR) runs through these expanses - a unique shipping route with an interesting history and very great prospects.

What is the famous sea route that goes through the North

The Northern Sea Route is considered the main and most important route of Russian shipping in the Arctic zone. It goes along the seas flowing into the Arctic Ocean. This sea route connects ports located in the European and Far Eastern parts of Russia. The beginning of the Northern Sea Route is in the Kara Gates. The highway ends in Providence Bay. The total length of the Northern Sea Route is about 5600 km, for the first time the Swedish nautical expedition, led by Nordenskjöld, covered this distance in 1878-79.

The Northern Sea Route was actively used by Soviet sailors in the 1940-80s. In the 70s, icebreakers began to walk along this highway. After the collapse of the USSR, foreign ships began to appear here frequently. The largest ports of the Northern Sea Route are located inIgarka, Dixon, Tiksi, Dudinka, Pevek and Providence. Navigation is managed by the Department of Maritime Transport of the Russian Federation (under the USSR, this was done by the Glavsevmorput, and then the Ministry of the Navy).

Main Ports

The Northern Sea Route starts in the Barents Sea. Then it continues in the waters of other seas - the Kara, Laptev, as well as the East Siberian and Chukchi. In each of the water areas there are key ports of the Northern Sea Route. First it is Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, to the east - Dikson, in the area of the Yenisei Bay, ships pass through Dudinka and Igarka, entering the Laptev Sea - through Nordvik, then Tiksi (the Lena Delta), Ambarchik (the mouth of the Kolyma), as well as Pevek and the port in Providence.

The listed shipping infrastructure facilities, which are located at the mouth of large rivers, serve as transshipment points for cargo ships. The Northern Sea Route is a highway along which timber, engineering products, coal, building materials, food, and furs are transported. Ports on the Northern Sea Route are adapted to receive large icebreakers.

Problems of NSR development

Experts believe that the modernization of the infrastructure of the Russian Arctic will require significant financial and labor investments. It will be necessary to improve the work of hydrography and meteorology services, establish a system of aerial reconnaissance of ice movement, and create state structures responsible for environmental control. It is necessary to increase the resources of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, improve the infrastructureports.

In addition, analysts believe that there are many unresolved issues regarding the legal framework governing the movement of ships along the NSR. In many respects, this aspect will determine the attractiveness of the highway for foreign investors - not only in the field of cargo shipping as such, but also in related segments. Such as, for example, Arctic tourism. There are many who want to make a trip to the North Pole, and companies from Russia can become the world's largest providers of such travel services.

Interest from other countries

According to a number of experts, the development of the Northern Sea Route is considered not only by Russia, but also by a number of other countries. First of all, we are talking about the major powers of the Asia-Pacific region - China and India. Small but influential states, such as Singapore, are also showing interest. A number of Russian officials believe that legislation is needed to regulate the movement of maritime transport for foreign shipping companies.

The situation, experts believe, may be complicated by the position of the United States, which does not believe that the key areas of the Northern Sea Route are exclusively under Russian jurisdiction. Moreover, even in Russia there is no consensus on the issues of legal regulation of the highway. But there are lawyers who are sure that the Russian Federation has every right to control the passage of ships along the Northern Sea Route thanks to the norms of the UN Convention on the Maritimelaw established in 1982.

About the administration of the NSR

The main state body that is called upon to regulate the procedure for navigation in the NSR is the Administration of the Northern Sea Route, whose central office is located in Moscow. According to the norms of Russian laws, navigation in the water area of this highway is carried out in a permissive manner. Vessel owners must apply in advance to use the waters of the NSR. The administration of the Northern Sea Route considers it and decides whether to issue a permit or refuse it. Interestingly, the application procedure is quite modern: documents can be sent electronically, and in English, which is very convenient for foreign seafarers. The NSR administration considers the application within 10 working days and posts its response (decision on whether or not to issue a permit) on the official website.

Shipping Rules

The Northern Sea Route of Russia is a highway where there are navigation rules determined by the legislation of the Russian Federation. Many of the requirements are reporting in nature. For example, if a ship follows the NSR and crosses the Western (Eastern) boundary, then once a day the captain of the ship must send key information about his ship to the Administration of the Northern Sea Route.

Among them are the geographic coordinates of the ship, the planned time of stay in the NSR water area, the exact course, speed, and information about the presence of ice on the ship's route. The captain of the ship undertakes to immediately notifyAdministration of the NSR about the discovered sources of environmental pollution. Those types of vessels that cannot move in conditions of dense ice concentration should coordinate their actions with the icebreaking fleet and be in constant communication with the administration of the NSR in order to follow the instructions for further movement if necessary.

NSR route

Some navigators prefer not to use such a term as the route of the Northern Sea Route, replacing it with the concept of "area". The scope of the NSR thus extends within the territorial waters of a latitude of 12 miles and an economic zone of free movement of ships 200 miles long. The NSR area is from the Kara Gates to the Bering Strait.

The Northern Sea Route, according to a number of navigators, is a complex of several shipping routes. Their specific extent does not have a constant value and depends mainly on seasonal changes in the thickness and location of the Arctic ice. The Northern Sea Route is more than 70 major ports and points. There are several regions of Russia at once (Chukotka, the sea coast of Yakutia and adjacent regions), for which the NSR is the only highway connecting them with the rest of the country.

Nuclear icebreakers on the NSR

Due to geographical and climatic features, the movement of ships along the Northern Sea Route is impossible without the participation of the icebreaker fleet. Now 6 nuclear-powered icebreakers are sailing along the NSR. This fleet ensures the stability of the operation of the entire sea route and solves problems related to facilitating access to the regions of the Far North of Russia, as well asArctic shelf. According to some experts, the Russian icebreaker fleet is the guarantor of the country's national security. As such, icebreaking escort of ships goes for 8,000 miles - from Murmansk to Vladivostok. In fact, the two largest shipping companies in the NSR are registered in these two cities. According to a number of experts, Russia's icebreaking fleet needs to be increased. This will increase the economic profitability of the highway, create new jobs in the NSR regions, improve the situation with the migration of the population from the North.

Economic Outlook

According to some experts, the NSR should become a competing highway for the Suez Canal and other major world maritime infrastructure facilities. According to some analysts, the maximum capacity of the NSR is about 50 million tons of cargo per year. The sailors themselves believe that the NSR will be more and more in demand every year, especially against the backdrop of increased activity of oil and gas companies in the regions of Yamal and the Arctic.

An important role in the efficient use of the highway, as sailors believe, should be played by private investors. The dynamics is quite optimistic: if in 2010 only 4 large ships passed through the NSR, then in 2011 - 34, and in 2012 - already 46. Experts believe that there is every reason to expect a further increase in the activity of shipping companies in the NSR water area - both Russian and foreign.

The role of the state

According to some analysts, until the early 2000sRussia paid very little influence to the development of the Arctic in general and the Northern Sea Route in particular. However, in recent years, the state has significantly intensified in these areas. New laws began to appear, issues relevant to the development of regions adjacent to the NSR were raised. These trends, experts believe, are largely related to the great historical role of Russia in the Arctic, the desire of the state to regain its former influence in the region. In 2008, the President signed the most important document - "Fundamentals of Russia's state policy in the Arctic until 2020". The northern regions of the Russian Federation are designated as one of the key strategic reserves for the development of the country. In some sources, the NSR is called the object of national transport communication. There is another source of law - the "Strategy for the socio-economic development of Siberia", adopted in 2010. It notes that the efficient use of NSR resources is a key factor in successful economic development in the Siberian region.

Attention from China

One of the most active foreign players in terms of navigation in the NSR is China, with which Russia has considered a priority partnership in recent years. In the autumn of 2013, some experts noted an interesting precedent related to the passage of the Yong Sheng vessel through the Northern Sea Route. It turned out that the ship, preferring to go through the Russian highway, won about two weeks compared to if it had sailed through the traditional route for Chinese sailors in the Indian Ocean through the Suez Canal. Of course, this could notaffect the further growth of the interest of shipping companies from China in using such an attractive route. Cooperation in the framework of navigation in the waters of the NSR is being actively discussed between China and Russia at the government level.

Russian President on NSR

The interest of the state in more intensive and efficient development of the Northern Sea Route can be seen in the example of the position of the President of the country. Vladimir Putin instructed the executive bodies to increase the turnover on the Northern Sea Route to 4 million tons by 2015. To this end, the process of commissioning new ships capable of sailing in ice conditions, as well as icebreakers - nuclear and diesel, will be accelerated. The President noted that it is necessary to modernize the infrastructure of communications, maritime navigation, and ship maintenance. The global goal is to turn the highway into an attractive direction for private companies in Russia and foreign countries. How successful the development of the NSR will be, the head of state noted, depends on how Russia will be able to promote its own national interests in the Arctic in the future.

Meaning of the NSR for Russia

Vladimir Putin's instructions are quite consistent with the general government policy on how the development of the Northern Sea Route should be carried out. The economic development of several regions of Russia at once depends on how successful the construction of the NSR infrastructure will be - this is especially true for the Arkhangelsk region and Siberia. According to some analysts, the significance of the Northern Sea Routefor Russia is difficult to overestimate. For our country, the NSR is not only a promising sea route, but also a tool that will allow us to solve a lot of things in the Arctic region. Therefore, even if the Northern Sea Route does not become as economically profitable as the authorities expect, then, experts believe, the country's government will need to continue investing in port infrastructure and building icebreakers - turning, if necessary, the NSR into a strategic foothold for national defense.