Additional dredging may be required to organize shipping in eastern part of Northern Sea Route

Hydrographic survey of the entire Arctic will take 300 years

Additional dredging and hydrographic surveying may be required to organize shipping in the eastern part of the Northern Sea Route, Andrey Afonin, Dean of the Arctic Department of the Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping, told journalists.

According to him, there are shallow sections on the route which cannot be passed by large ships with a draft of 12-15 meters. “Dredging will have to be performed in some sections,” said Andrey Afonin.

Hydrographic surveying of the Arctic waters will be conducted phase by phase starting from the most important sections since the survey of the entire Arctic will take 300 years, according to Andrey Afonin.

The Northern Sea Route is a single transport system in the Russian Arctic sector. It stretches along the northern coasts of Russia across the seas of the Arctic Ocean (Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukchi seas). The route links the European ports of Russia with the mouths of navigable rivers in Siberia and the Far East. In August 2022, a plan for the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) until 2035 was approved. The plan includes over 150 activities with total financing nearing RUB 1.8 trillion.

According to the plan, the annual cargo traffic on the Northern Sea Route is to reach 80 million by 2024, 150 million tonnes by 2030, 220 million tonnes – by 2035.

The 6^th Hydraulic Engineering and Dredging Congress will be held on 15-16 February 2023. The Congress is organized by Russia’s leading industry focused media group PortNews. The Congress will combine the 10^th Forum of Dredging Companies (February 15) and the 6^th Technical Conference “Modern Solutions for Hydraulic Works" (February 16). 

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