Nuclear-powered container ship Sevmorput has left for this year’s first subsidized coastwise voyage to the Far East, according to Rosatom’s Telegram.
The ship will deliver 121 containers, metal structures, sawn timber, cranes and automotive equipment.
“The load takes 95% of the volume available, — said Vyacheslav Ruksha, Deputy General Director of Rosatom - Director of the Northern Sea Route Directorate. — The voyage to Vostochny port is expected to take about 22 days. Cargo base for the return voyage is being formed. In autumn, the nuclear-powered container carrier will make one more round voyage between the North-West and the Far East. The voyages are currently subsidized from the federal budget and it is important to ensure economic efficiency of transportation in the future.
A regular coastwise line launched in 2022 numbered 2 voyages. In 2023, it is planned to make 3 voyages. In 2023, the number of ports of call on the NSR coastal line will be increased from 4 to 11 including Arkhangelsk, Nakhodka and Magadan.
According to earlier reports of IAA PortNews, FSUE Atomflot and the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic approved the schedule of Sevmorput voyages on April 25. The first voyage on the Saint-Petersburg – Vostochny Port – Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky – Murmansk route was scheduled to begin on June 22. The second subsidized voyage on the Northern Sea Route was scheduled to start on October 10.
RF Government started subsidizing cargo transportation between the ports of Saint-Petersburg, Murmansk and the Far East region in 2022. A total of RUB 7.84 billion is foreseen under the Northern Sea Route Development Plan until 2035. Rosatom and the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic are responsible for organization of the voyages.
In 2022, FSUE Atomflot was announced the winner of the competition to select a company for subsidized coastwise cargo transportation. Two round voyages between the ports of Russia’s European and the Far East were made in 2022. The loading of container carrier Sevmorput for the first voyage to the Far East was 10% and it reached 90% for the second one while the back loading was as high as 46%.
The nuclear-powered container ship “Sevmorput” (named after the Northern Sea Route) was built at Kerch based Zaliv Shipyard in 1988. The Sevmorput is intended for transportation of cargo to the remote northern areas. The ship can break through continuous field ice of up to 1 meter thick at a speed of about two knots and carry some 36,000 tonnes of cargo. With its hull design and strength the ship can operate in the Arctic basin independently or escorted by an icebreaker in more challenging ice conditions.