56 permits issued for navigation in NSR waters
NSR waters are covered with compact one-year ice with ice pressure. The western edge of the Arctic ice is in the Barents Sea. Ice ridges and ice breccia are observed on the recommended routes in the Kara Sea. There are floating ice hummocks in the Gulf of Ob and in the Yeniseay Bay and at the approaches to them. Iceberg threat remains at the Cape Zhelaniya.
Icebreaking operations in the NSR waters were performed by the Aleksandr Sannikov and Admiral Makarov icebreakers as well as nuclear-powered icebreakers Yamal, Vaigach, Taimyr, 50 Let Pobedy and Arktika, the latter left the water area of the NSR for Murmansk on March 30.
Icebreaking assistance at Sabetta port was provided by Ob, Tor and Saint-Petersburg icebreakers, at Dudinka port – Dudinka and Avraamy Zavenyagin icebreakers.
At the Arctic Gate terminal of the Novoportovskoye field, safety of operations was ensured by the Andrey Vilkitsky icebreaker.
In the reported period, 56 vessels were given permits for navigation in NSR waters (10% less, year-on-year) including 22 permits given to foreign-flagged vessels (1 permit less, year-on-year).
In January-December 2020, cargo traffic on the Northern Sea Route (NSR) totaled almost 33 million tonnes of cargo including over 18 million tonnes of LNG.
The target set for 2020 under the federal project “The Northern Sea Route” was as high as 29 million tonnes with the project aimed at the NSR development to reach annual cargo traffic of 80 million tonnes in 2024. “The Northern Sea Route” project is supervised by Rosatom.
Related links:
NSR cargo traffic grew by 4.2% in 11M’2020 >>>>
NSR cargo traffic can reach 130-160 million tonnes in the future - Konstantin Dolgov >>>>