Economic and environmental aspects of the development possibilities for the northern sea route

Abstract

Sea transport is an important part of the international transport system. Its development is especially important for the Arctic, which is an important energy region with easy access to the sea for the transportation of crude oil, liquefied natural gas and other resources. This investment area is a priority for Russia and a number of other countries, including China, since it promotes interests in energy and shipping field. Tankers with icebreaking capabilities delivering crude oil and natural gas from the Far East to Western markets account for about 45% of shipping on the Northern Sea Route (NSR). The rest of the transportation is carried out within the framework of the large Russian project "Yamal LNG" by ice-class tankers from the Sabetta port to Europe. However, the volume of sea traffic in the Arctic Ocean waters remains insignificant. In this regard, the article analyzes the economic and environmental aspects of possible expanding of using the NSR as an alternative route from Europe to Asia. Although the NSR is a direct route, the absence of transshipment points and transit ports complicates the conditions for transit goods carriage, and some route sections are too shallow for large container carriers. There are a number of other important operational constraints, including extreme climatic conditions and environmental issues: ships emissions, oil spills on ice. It is concluded that the pace of the Arctic projects implementation will directly determine traffic volume. To overcome barriers and restrictions that prevent the NSR's transformation into a transport corridor for both Russia and international transit flows, it is necessary to implement projects for the Arctic support zones creation and development, as well as the modernization and expansion of the nuclear icebreaker fleet capacities. A method is proposed for calculating the time of cargo delivery, considering the multi-range of logistics chains based on the NSR.