The number of voyages by nuclear-powered container ship Sevmorput can be increased this year
In 2022, transit of foreign cargo along the Northern Sea Route plunged 10 times to 200 thousand tonnes. Maksim Kulinko, Deputy Director of Rosatom’s NSR Directorate, said at the 6th Hydraulic Engineering and Dredging Congress organized by IAA PortNews.
He reminded that the total cargo traffic on the Northern Sea Route reached 34 million tonnes, above the planned 32 million tonnes. “2 million tonnes of international transit were offset by transportation of domestic cargo,” said Maksim Kulinko.
According to him, the loading of nuclear-powered container ship Sevmorput allowed for saving about RUB 285 million of subsidies planned to be used in 2023 together with RUB 504 million allocated by the federal budget for the current season. That will let organize more voyages and, perhaps, deploy more ships on the line, thus turning it into a regular one.
State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM has been a single infrastructure operator of the Northern Sea Route from 2018. It is in charge of organizing shipping, construction of infrastructure facilities, ensuring navigation and hydrographic support and safety in challenging Arctic conditions. The authority of Rosatom’s NSR Directorate covers Atomflot, Hydrographic Company and Glavsevmorput.
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.