Workshop on NSR shipping to be held for foreign companies in summer 2021

It has been agreed with the major international companies interested in shipping by the Northern Sea Route to hold a workshop hosted by FSUE Atomflot’s Headquarters of Marine Operations on the NSR in summer 2021. The workshop is to demonstrate new opportunities for shipping management and services on information and navigation support of ships along the route, Secretariat of the State Commission for Arctic Development (SCAD) cites Vyacheslav Ruksha, Deputy Director General of Rosatom, Director of the Northern Sea Route Directorate, as saying at the SCAD meeting.

By the summer-autumn navigation season of 2020, Atomflot’s Headquarters of Marine Operations had put into operation an automated control system for round-the-clock collection and analysis of data on hydro-meteorological, ice and navigation conditions in the NSR waters. That lets ensure navigation safety and route optimization through providing individual recommendations to the NSR users. The Headquarters of Marine Operations guarantees arrangements on guiding a ship to more favorable conditions in case of any challenging situation on the Northern Sea Route.

Advanced information technologies and expertise of Atomflot's HMO specialists offer new opportunities for using the Northern Sea Route and make it more attractive and acceptable from a commercial point of view.

According to Vyacheslav Ruksha, the NSR transit has reached 1.3 million tonnes this year. More than 60 ships have passed from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean.

In 2020, the new service has been rendered to 11 ice-class ships flying under the flags of the Russian Federation, Panama, the Marshall Islands and Malta. The ships of different classes were sailing in both eastward and westward directions. They were provided with individual real-time recommendations on navigation and the latest data on the navigation challenges along the way in the Northern Sea Route waters.

In the future, a Unified Navigation Control Center will be established on the basis of the automated control system. That will allow for optimization of ship routes and layout of nuclear-powered icebreakers in the water area of the Northern Sea Route. The ultimate goal of the product is the transition to an automatic routing in the Arctic region which is to improve logistics, ensure maximum safety of navigation and enhance commercial attractiveness of the Northern Sea Route. Introduction of the automated control system by HMO is a new step forward in the development of shipping by the NSR and towards the NSR cargo traffic set to reach 80 million tonnes by 2024.  

The automated control system of FSUE Atomflot’s Headquarters of Marine Operations was put into operation on 31 August 2020.

RF Government approved The Rules for Navigation in the Water Area of the Northern Sea Route by its Decree No 1487 dated 18 September 2020.

The NSR management is based on the ‘two-key’ principle with Atomflot’s Headquarters of Marine Operations arranging navigation in the Northern Sea Route waters and the Federal Marine and River Transport Agency  issuing permits for NSR navigation upon HMO approval.

Related link:

Rosatom to establish Marine Operations Headquarters for Northern Sea Route >>>>