The Ministry of Transport has announced the Northern Sea Route's needs for emergency rescue vessels and plans to meet these needs in the coming years. Vitaly Klyuev, Director of the Department of State Policy in the Field of Maritime and River Transport of the Ministry of Transport of Russia, said during the International Forum "Arctic: Today and the Future" that eight such vessels are currently operating on the Northern Sea Route.
But this is not enough: according to the official, with maximum shipping intensity, the Northern Sea Route will require 54 emergency rescue vessels. They must be ready to go on duty in any ice conditions and have the necessary equipment on board to eliminate emergency oil and oil product spills.
Klyuev noted that 16 vessels of this class are under construction, two of which will be commissioned by the end of 2024, and another 14 in 2025‒2026.
Earlier in 2022, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Vladimir Panov, Special Representative of Rosatom State Corporation for the Development of the Arctic, noted that Russian shipbuilders should commission 16 emergency rescue vessels in 2024-2025. And, according to Panov, they faced the additional task of building another 30 emergency rescue vessels by 2030.
Read more on the topic:
Russian drones now control oil spills on the Northern Sea Route