Rethinking Year-Round Navigation via the Northern Sea Route

Abstract

AbstractGlobal climate changes, rising yearly average temperatures in different regions of the planet, and Arctic ice melting create favorable conditions for intensified navigation along the Northern Sea Route (NSR), as well as for using the latter as a full-scale transportation corridor that ensures cargo shipment from Asian countries to Europe at lower costs than existing transportation routes. In this route, it would be important to run an analysis, including both economic and natural/climatic factors, of the conditions that influence the efficiency of the year-round navigation along the Northern Sea Route; this would determine the mid-term potential for navigation development considering the situation in the world economy. Essentially, the analysis of the potential for the year-round navigation along the NSR boils down to answering three questions: (1) Are there technical capabilities to support navigation? (2) Is there enough cargo whose shipment would be reasonable and profitable? (3) How are ships operating along the NSR supported by communications, hydro navigation, hydrometeorological navigation, SAR, repair, and other services?KeywordsNorthern Sea RouteInvestmentsIcebreakersProjectsIce-class vesselsNavigation