It is planned to increase the fleet of icebreakers for year-round use of the Northern Sea Route by 2030

By 2030, it will be necessary to additionally build up to 100 ice-class cargo ships to ensure transportation along the Northern Sea Route (NSR), the Main Directorate of the Northern Sea Route (GUSMP) told Izvestia. This is necessary to increase cargo traffic and ensure year-round navigation along the route, which will help improve the efficiency of the Northern Sea Route.

Currently, 33 ice-class vessels are under construction, however, according to GUSMP estimates, up to 100 more vessels will be required by 2030 to export products from the Arctic and ensure cabotage and transit transportation along the NSR. By 2035, for the full functioning of the route, additional strengthening of the icebreaker fleet may be required, including three serial universal nuclear icebreakers of Project 22220 and one serial nuclear icebreaker "Leader", which will increase the total grouping of icebreakers on the Northern Sea Route to 18 units.

Currently, there are problems with the implementation of transportation volumes due to sanctions and the suspension of the construction of Arc7 ice-class vessels, which complicates the implementation of transport projects. In light of these problems, a proposal was put forward to strengthen the railway component of the transport corridor in order to reduce dependence on the number of icebreakers and improve logistics on the mainland. The initiative to strengthen the railway component was announced by the Special Representative of the President for International Cooperation in Transport Igor Levitin at SPIEF-2024.

Currently, the possibility of attracting vessels without an ice class in the autumn-summer period is being worked out, which will increase the intensity of shipping. This involves the use of an ice passport, which records the permissible conditions for passage in ice, allowing for a more accurate assessment of the vessel's capabilities for safe passage through ice. Changes are also being considered to the rules of navigation for vessels without an ice class in order to clarify the admission criteria and improve the safety of navigation on the NSR.

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