Russia owns significant maritime territories in the Arctic. The Northern Sea Route (NSR) runs through these open spaces - a unique shipping line with an interesting history and very great prospects.
What is famous for the sea route that goes through the North
The Northern Sea Route is considered the main and most important highway of Russian shipping in the Arctic zone. He goes along the seas flowing into the Arctic Ocean. This sea highway connects ports located in the European and Far Eastern parts of Russia. The beginning of the Northern Sea Route is in the Kara Gate. The highway ends in Providence Bay. The total length of the Northern Sea Route is about 5600 km; for the first time, the Swedish shipping expedition led by Nordenskjöld went all 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 in Igarka, Dikson, Tiksi, Dudinka, Pevek and Providence. Navigation management is carried out by the Department of Maritime Transport of the Russian Federation (under the USSR, this was done by the Glavsevmorput, and then the Ministry of Morphlot).
Main ports
The Northern Sea Route begins in the Barents Sea. Then it continues in the waters of other seas - the Kara, Laptev, and also the East Siberian and Chukchi. The key ports of the Northern Sea Route are located in each of the water areas. First, it is Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, to the east - Dikson, in the Yenisei Gulf, vessels pass through Dudinka and Igarka, entering the Laptev Sea through Noordwick, then Tiksi (Lena delta), Ambarchik (mouth of the Kolyma), as well as Pevek and the port in Providence.
The listed objects of shipping infrastructure, which are located at the mouth of large rivers, serve as transshipment points for cargo ships. The Northern Sea Route is the highway through which timber, mechanical engineering products, coal, building materials, food products, and furs are transported. Ports on the Northern Sea Route are adapted to receive large icebreaking vessels.
Problems of the development of the NSR
Experts believe that upgrading the infrastructure of the Russian Arctic will require significant financial and labor investments. It will be necessary to improve the work of hydrographic and meteorological services, to establish an air reconnaissance system for the movement of ice, and to create state structures responsible for environmental control. It is necessary to increase the resources of the Ministry of Emergencies, improve the infrastructure of ports.
In addition, analysts believe that there are many unresolved issues regarding the regulatory framework governing the movement of ships along the NSR routes. In many respects, this aspect will determine the attractiveness of the highway for foreign investors - not only in the field of freight shipping as such, but also in related segments. Such as, for example, Arctic tourism. There are many who wish to travel to the North Pole, and companies from Russia may become the largest suppliers of such travel services in the world.
Interest from other countries
According to some experts, the development of the Northern Sea Route considers not only Russia, but also a number of other countries to be its prerogative. First of all, we are talking about the major powers of the Asia-Pacific region - China and India. Interest is also shown by small but influential states such as Singapore. A number of Russian officials believe that legislative norms are needed to regulate the movement of sea 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 waters of the Northern Sea Route are exclusively in Russian jurisdiction. Moreover, on issues of legal regulation of the highway, even in Russia there is no consensus. But there are lawyers who are confident that the Russian Federation has every right to control the passage of vessels along the Northern Sea Route thanks to the norms of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, established in 1982.
About the administration of the NSR
The main state body which is called upon to regulate the navigation procedure in the NSR is the Administration of the Northern Sea Route, the central office of which 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. Ship owners must apply in advance for the use of NSR waters. The Administration of the Northern Sea Route considers it and makes a decision on issuing a permit or refusing it. It is interesting that the application procedure is quite modernized: documents can be sent in electronic form, and moreover in English, which is very convenient for foreign sailors. The administration of the NSR reviews the application for up to 10 business days and posts its answer (the decision on whether or not to issue a permit) on the official website.
Shipping regulations
The Northern Sea Route of Russia is a highway where there are shipping rules defined by the legislation of the Russian Federation. Too many requirements are reporting in nature. For example, if a ship follows the NSR and crosses the Western (Eastern) line, then once a day the ship's captain must send key information about his ship to the Administration of the Northern Sea Route.
Among them are the geographical coordinates of the ship, the planned time spent in the NSR, the exact course, speed, as well as information about the presence of ice on the route of the ship. The captain of the ship undertakes to immediately notify the NSR Administration about the detected sources of environmental pollution. Those types of ships that cannot move in conditions of dense ice concentration should coordinate their actions with the icebreaking fleet and be in constant contact with the NSR administration in order to follow directions for further movement if necessary.
SMP track
Some sailors prefer not to use such a term as the Northern Sea Route, replacing it with the concept of “area”. The scale of the NSR, thus, extends within the framework of territorial waters with a breadth of 12 miles and the economic zone of free movement of ships 200 miles long. The area of the NSR is from the Kara Gate to the Bering Strait.
The Northern Sea Route, according to some sailors, is a complex of several shipping lanes. Their specific extent is not constant and depends mainly on seasonal changes in the thickness and location of Arctic ice. The Northern Sea Route is more than 70 large ports and points. There are several regions of Russia (Chukotka, the sea coast of Yakutia and the surrounding regions) at once, for which the NSR is the only highway connecting them with the rest of the country.
Nuclear-powered icebreakers at 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 there are 6 nuclear icebreakers on the NSR. This fleet ensures the stability of the entire sea route and solves the problems associated with facilitating access to the regions of the Far North of Russia, as well as to the Arctic shelf. According to some experts, the Russian icebreaker fleet is a guarantor of the country's national security. As such, icebreaking assistance for ships runs 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 some experts, the icebreaking fleet of Russia needs to be increased. This will increase the economic profitability of the highway, create new jobs in the regions of the NSR, improve the situation with population migration from the North.
Economic outlook
According to a number of experts, the NSR should become a competing highway for the Suez Canal and other major world marine infrastructure facilities. According to some analysts, the maximum capacity of the NSR is about 50 million tons of cargo per year. Mariners themselves believe that the NSR will be more and more popular every year - especially against the backdrop of growing activity of oil and gas companies in the regions of Yamal and the Arctic.
Private investors should play an important role in the efficient use of the highway. The dynamics is rather optimistic: if in 2010 only 4 large vessels passed through the NSR, then in 2011 - 34, and in 2012 - already 46. Experts believe that there is every reason to expect further growth in the activity of shipping companies in the NSR both Russian and foreign.
State role
According to some analysts, until the early 2000s, Russia had very little influence on the development of the Arctic as a whole and the Northern Sea Route in particular. However, in recent years, the state has significantly intensified in these areas. New laws began to appear, questions were raised that were relevant for the development of regions adjacent to the NSR. Experts believe that these trends 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 State Policy of Russia in the Arctic until 2020”. The northern regions of the Russian Federation are designated in it as one of the key strategic reserves of the country's development. In some sources, the NSR is called the object of national transport communication. There is another source of law - "Strategy for the socio-economic development of Siberia", adopted in 2010. It notes that the effective use of the resources of the NSR is a key factor in successful economic construction in the Siberian region.
Attention from China
One of the most active foreign players in relation to shipping in the NSR is China, a partnership with which Russia has considered particularly priority in recent years. In autumn 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 with if it sailed through the traditional route for the Chinese sailors in the Indian Ocean through the Suez Canal. Of course, this could not but affect the further growth of interest of shipping companies from China in using such an attractive route. Cooperation in the framework of shipping in the waters of the NSR is actively discussed between the PRC and Russia at the government level.
President of Russia on the NSR
The interest of the state in a more intensive and effective development of the Northern Sea Route can be traced on the example of the position of the President of the country. Vladimir Putin instructed the executive bodies to withdraw by 2015 up to 4 million tons of traffic on the NSR lines. For this, the process of putting into operation new vessels capable of sailing under ice conditions, as well as icebreakers - nuclear and diesel - will be accelerated. The President noted that it is necessary to modernize the communications infrastructure, maritime navigation, ship maintenance. The global goal is to turn the highway into an attractive destination for private companies in Russia and foreign countries. The head of state noted how successful the development of the NSR will be, how Russia can further promote its own national interests in the Arctic.
The value of the NSR for Russia
Vladimir Putin’s instructions are consistent with the general government course regarding how the development of the Northern Sea Route should be implemented. The economic development of several regions of Russia at once depends on how successful the construction of the NSR infrastructure will be — especially in the Arkhangelsk region and Siberia. According to some analysts, the importance of the Northern Sea Route for Russia is difficult to overestimate. For our country, the NSR is not only a promising sea route, but also a tool that will solve a lot in the Arctic region. Therefore, even if economically the Northern Sea Route does not become as cost-effective as the authorities expect, then, experts believe, the government will need to continue to invest in port infrastructure and build icebreakers - if necessary, turn the NSR into a strategic bridgehead for national defense.