Latest news with #NorthernSeaRoute
South China Morning Post
13-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
How China is driving a surge in shipping traffic along Arctic sea routes
Chinese companies are showing growing interest in shipping goods to the West via the Northern Sea Route – an icy Arctic passage that opens up each summer – according to Rosatom, the Russian company that operates infrastructure along the route. The firm anticipates a significant uptick in voyages by Chinese companies along the NSR during the coming summer-autumn shipping season, and is adding more nuclear-powered icebreakers to its fleet to handle the growing traffic flow. Cargo traffic on the NSR – the shortest shipping link between the Asia-Pacific region and western Eurasia – is steadily increasing, Rosatom told the Post via email. In 2024, a record 92 transit voyages were completed, carrying more than 3 million tonnes of cargo. 'In 2025, companies from China plan to make at least one and a half times more trips along the NSR than last year,' Rosatom said, though it did not provide specific numbers for Chinese companies' voyages. Cargo data showed that Russia's energy exports to China currently dominate transit shipping along the NSR, with 95 per cent of all transit shipments moving from Russia to China in 2024, according to the Centre for High North Logistics, an Arctic transport institute affiliated with Norway's Nord University. Crude oil remained the main cargo, accounting for 1.89 million tonnes of goods shipped along the route last year. Bulk commodities such as iron ore, coal and fertiliser made up the second-largest cargo source, with 877,000 tonnes.
Russia Today
09-06-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
EU frozen out of Arctic opportunities by Russia sanctions
Western sanctions on Russia have effectively cut off EU shipping firms from tapping into the Northern Sea Route (NSR), the shortest maritime link between Europe and the Asia-Pacific, the Financial Times has reported, citing industry sources. The route is expected to become a major trade artery for goods shipped between the continents and will drastically reduce transit times, compared to shipping via the Suez or Panama canals. Western shipping companies are exercising caution to avoid any risks associated with geopolitics, according to Daniel Richards, a director at London-based consultancy Maritime Strategies International. The cargo vessels that use the route are primarily operated by companies with close ties to Russia or China, according to the FT. The world's second-largest container line, Danish giant Maersk, abandoned use of the route and ceased cooperation with Russia due to the threat of running afoul of Brussels. The source told the newspaper that container ships in the Arctic rely on maritime hubs almost entirely within Russian territorial waters and often require icebreakers provided by state corporation Rosatom. The journey from the Japanese port of Yokohama to the Russian Arctic port of Murmansk through the NSR is over 7,000 kilometres shorter than via the Suez or Panama canals. Moscow has repeatedly dismissed Western sanctions imposed upon it since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict as illegal and insisted that the measures have in fact backfired on the very countries who launched them. Top officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, argue that the restrictions have failed to destabilize the Russian economy or isolate it from the global financial system. Other business officials have admitted that EU sanctions have hurt European companies more than Russian competitors. According to Ferdinando Pelazzo, Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce president, the restrictions have undermined business of most small companies. President of the association of German industry BDI, Siegfried Russwurm, has said that Germany is running mounting risks of deindustrialization due to soaring costs triggered by Berlin's refusal to buy cheap Russian energy. Putin stated earlier this year that total cargo volumes shipped via the NSR surged from just four million tons in 2014 to nearly 38 million tons last year — five times the Soviet-era record. He added that the figure is expected to reach 70–100 million tons by 2030.
Reuters
30-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Russia's Rosatom expects boom in foreign vessels using Arctic shipping route
MOSCOW, May 30 (Reuters) - Russia expects a 50% rise in voyages by foreign vessels using the Northern Sea Route (NSR) along its Arctic coast this year, which Moscow sees as an alternative to the Suez Canal, state-controlled nuclear energy firm Rosatom told Reuters on Friday. Rosatom runs a fleet of icebreakers and is in charge of operations along the NSR, which connects Russian ports with China during the summer months, saving vessels up to 10 days at sea compared to traveling via the Suez Canal. Moscow is promoting the route as a way of avoiding sailing close to the borders of European Union member states at a time of mounting geopolitical tensions. "There is a clear upward trend in international interest in the NSR ... In 2025, foreign companies are expected to conduct at least 1.5 times more voyages through the NSR compared to the previous year," the company told Reuters in emailed comments. As of May 27, a total of 196 applications have been submitted for vessel navigation along the NSR, including vessels sailing under foreign flags, Rosatom said, adding that summer-autumn navigation will be open from July 1 to November 30. A record volume of nearly 38 million metric tons of various goods, including oil and liquefied natural gas, was shipped along the route last year, the company said. However, the NSR presents a massive challenge for ships due to thick ice in winter, and navigation is restricted to warmer months. Long dominated by vessels managed by Russian shipping giant Sovcomflot, Azerbaijan-based Vista Vvave Shipmanagement was among companies using the NSR for the first time last year.
Telegraph
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Inside Britain's mission to deny Russia control of the Arctic
Russia's 200-metre long floating dock was meant to help Moscow control the Arctic seas. In service, the vast craft will assist in repairing nuclear-powered ice-breakers, needed to cleave safe passage through the frozen waters around Nato's northern flank. But the journey of the craft to its home in the Russian port of Murmansk has been interrupted by British sanctions, the Foreign Office announced on Tuesday. The newly designated Vengery tugboat – due to tow the dock out of Istanbul – has returned to Russia, 'leaving the floating dock stranded in the Mediterranean'. The announcement will have put a spring in the step of David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, who on Tuesday began a visit to Norway and Iceland, Britain's two nearest Arctic neighbours. 'The Arctic is fast becoming an area of intense focus for geopolitical competition – and a key flank of Nato's defences. Russia has been building up its military presence here for years,' Mr Lammy told The Telegraph. The Foreign Secretary will observe British and Norwegian ships carrying out joint patrols before announcing an artificial intelligence scheme with Iceland aimed at detecting hostile vessels. 'And as ice caps in the region melt, new shipping routes and resources will be exposed, further heightening the risk of confrontation,' he said. 'That's why we must take action to deter threats in the Arctic.' Moscow is stepping up its campaign to dominate the Northern Sea route, which – when not frozen over – nearly halves the distance ships must travel between Europe and Asia. It is seeking to procure more of the nuclear-powered ice-breakers capable of unblocking the route far from its coasts. And Vladimir Putin has invested heavily in his prized Northern Fleet, which possesses 18 nuclear-powered submarines and warships now equipped with hypersonic missiles. The Russian dictator 'got the drop' over Nato with 'a decade of remilitarisation' in the Arctic before the war in Ukraine began, says Ed Arnold, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank. Russia has peppered its Arctic regions with new military bases, upgraded the Northern Fleet to replace ageing Soviet craft, and invested in hypersonic, highly precise cruise missiles like the Tsirkon, whose 1,000km (621-mile) range brings Western targets into play. However, the war in Ukraine has stretched the Russian military and it is now 'so much weakened it's almost giving Nato a 'get out of jail free' card,' says Mr Arnold. 'If you invest and take this seriously now, you could potentially ensure supremacy in the Arctic' for the long term, he adds. Together, Norway and the UK form the front line against any Russian attempt to enter the waters of the North Atlantic, from where its vessels could sever transatlantic supply lines – and threaten population centres. In recent years, Moscow has stepped up patrols across the Arctic, accusing Nato of provoking the Kremlin with increased exercises in northern Norway. Like the Russian jets that fly along the edge of UK airspace, triggering a rapid reaction deployment from the RAF, the Russian navy conducts regular military exercises in the Arctic's non-territorial waters. Recent incidents have involved Russian ships sailing dangerously close to Norwegian vessels without warning them in advance over the radio. After the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Moscow is now said to have a greater risk appetite in the Arctic, and is willing to push its strained relationship with Nato countries to its limit. Posturing That approach is described as 'overt posturing', designed as a show of force to the Western countries that operate within the Arctic circle. One recent development, surely prompted by Russia's success with drones in Ukraine, is to send unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) along its 124-mile border with Norway. The harsh Arctic territory would make it difficult for Russia to send tanks over the border in any great numbers, but drones can operate from the skies with a far smaller footprint than fast jets or ships. The alliance's response to Russia's sabre-rattling has been to step up the military collaboration between the UK and Norway. In a Nato training exercise in the Arctic Circle earlier this month, both countries' navies took part in drills showcasing the ability to shoot down Russia's latest cruise missiles. In Oslo, politicians have proposed a 12-year plan to increase defence spending in light of Russian aggression, and bought new anti-drone and anti-submarine technology. Meanwhile, the UK has deployed its new P-8 Poseidon 'sub hunter' planes, and is sharing defence technology and platforms with the Norwegian military. But in order to truly deter Putin, analysts are calling for a stepped-up presence both in the seas and on land. There is speculation that Labour's forthcoming Strategic Defence Review will result in British forces being permanently stationed in the Arctic, with a standing force modelled on that already deployed in Estonia. The West's navies also need to shift from holding high-profile exercises to continuous operations, says Mr Arnold. That requires more ships. 'What is actually going to worry Putin more will be the fact that - in three or four years' time - the general operational activity in the High North [Nato's term for the Arctic] has increased four-fold and continues to increase. That's what actually builds deterrence.' 'You need naval ships, of course,' adds Per Erik Solli, a retired Norwegian Air Force colonel and analyst at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. 'You need submarines and you need fighter jets, such as the F-35, that are capable of carrying anti-ship equipment. 'The number one priority in Norway is our navy.'
IOL News
07-05-2025
- Science
- IOL News
South African teens invited to apply for Arctic Expedition on world's most powerful icebreaker
The beauty of the Arctic during the fifth expedition "Icebreaker of Knowledge". South African teenagers have the rare opportunity to journey to the North Pole aboard a Russian nuclear icebreaker as part of Rosatom's prestigious 'Icebreaker of Knowledge' programme. The 2025 edition of this Arctic expedition is now open for applications, and learners aged 14 to 16 from South Africa, Namibia, Ghana, and Egypt are encouraged to apply. Organised by Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear energy company, the programme is an international educational initiative that brings together teenagers from across Africa, Latin America, and Eurasia to explore scientific innovation in one of the planet's most remote regions. Since its inception six years ago, the project has seen more than 350 students participate, with last year's expedition including one of the first South African learners to ever reach the geographic North Pole. In 2025, the expedition holds added significance as it coincides with both the 80th anniversary of Russia's nuclear industry and the 500th anniversary of the Northern Sea Route — milestones that symbolise both scientific progress and centuries of exploration. Participants will travel aboard 50 Лет Победы (50 Years of Victory), the most powerful nuclear-powered icebreaker in the world. The vessel was named to commemorate half a century since the Soviet Union's victory in World War II — a deeply symbolic gesture connecting the themes of resilience, innovation, and national pride. Built by Russia's historic Baltic Shipyard and commissioned in 2007, 50 Let Pobedy is the flagship of Rosatom's nuclear icebreaker fleet. The icebreaker is a technical marvel. It is powered by two nuclear reactors generating a combined 75,000 horsepower and is capable of cutting through Arctic ice up to 2.8 metres thick.
