The Government of the Russian Federation has expanded the parameters of the programme for subsidizing cargo transportation by the Northern Sea Route, according to the press center of the government. The programme participants can include the ports of Arkhangelsk and Nakhodka in the routes now use. That will make the cargo transportation more profitable and popular among shippers.
Previously, the subsidies were provided to those using the Great Port of Saint-Petersburg and Murmansk in the western sector of the Northern Sea Route, and Vladivostok and Vostochny as the end points.
The programme participants can now charter vessels for cargo transportation.
Every year, RUB 560 million are allocated to subsidize regular freight traffic along the NSR. Carriers can compensate for lost income due to preferential tariffs, as well as expenses associated with ship calls to ports.
According to the presidential decree, the NSR cargo flow should be increased to 80 million tonnes by 2024. The work is carried out within the framework of the federal project "Development of the Northern Sea Route".
The NSR development was discussed during Mikhail Mishustin's visit to the Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant of Nornickel’s Polar Branch on July 27, 2023. When speaking with Vladimir Potanin, head of Norilsk Nickel, the Prime Minister emphasized that the use of the NSR significantly reduces the costs of transporting products, especially amid unprecedented economic sanctions.