India plans to use Russia's Northern Shipping Corridor as a strategic alternative to the Suez Canal

Mishra added during the Al-Sharq Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok: This sea route saves India 40% of the distance and shortens the journey time by about two weeks to European ports, which makes it a strategic option as an alternative to the Suez Canal and Middle East conflicts.

He continued: The main factor is also the absence of problems associated with sanctions restrictions, which allows us to insure shipments against transportation risks at very favorable rates.

He pointed out that India and Russia aim to increase the volume of bilateral trade to $100 billion annually by 2030, with New Delhi planning to send the first commercial ship through the northern route next year, as Rosatom operates the corridor with nuclear icebreakers.

The Northern Shipping Corridor is the shortest shipping route between Western Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region, and a national transport artery for Russia with a length of 5,600 kilometers.

The road set a record in 2025, amounting to 37.9 million tons of transported goods, exceeding the previous record by more than 1.6 million tons.

Moscow attaches great importance to the development of the Arctic region, especially the Northern Navigation Corridor, which extends through its waters in the Arctic Circle and connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The Russian Rosatom Energy and Nuclear Industry Corporation continues to manufacture an additional number of new-generation nuclear icebreakers, as it has the largest fleet of its kind in the world, far ahead of all competing countries, to ensure the continuity of navigation and break the polar ice in front of ships along the route.