Russia is working with China to advance a project to enable year-round container shipping on the Northern Sea Route (NSR), according to Splash 247.
Rosatom, the Russian company overseeing the NSR, and China’s NewNew Shipping are forming a joint venture. They plan to create a fleet of five ice-class container ships operating all year round. According to reports, NewNew has already made a number of Arctic transits over the past couple of years.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been calling for a significant increase in traffic along the Northern Sea Route for several years. Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in February 2022, the project gained more momentum, as the focus of exports shifted towards Asian consumers.
The standard Suez Canal route between Europe and Asia is 21,000 kilometres, whereas the NSR stretches over 13,000 kilometres. This could potentially cut delivery times by more than half.
Moreover, with no risk of conflict as in the Black Sea, shorter travel time than through the Suez, and no fear of pirate activity as at Bab el-Mandeb, it is clear why Russia wants to develop the NSR.
However, as early as last October, NATO expressed concern about the Chinese presence on Russia’s Northern Sea Route and the possibility of an alleged increase in Chinese military presence in the Arctic.
Close ties between Russia and China, including energy and transport co-operation, have resulted in a sharp increase in Russian oil shipments to China via Arctic waters.
