Russia eyes Northern Sea Route expansion via icebreaker fleet growth

MOSCOW, August 29. /TASS/. Russia’s unique icebreaker fleet creates prospects for the Northern Sea Route (NSR) to gain widespread popularity in the Arctic, Russian presidential adviser and Executive Secretary of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) Organizing Committee Anton Kobyakov told TASS in an interview ahead of the forum.

"We are interested in and are working to extend the seasonal window for commercial vessel transit, which usually runs from June through November. Climate warming, which is particularly noticeable in the Arctic, as well as broader use of our unique icebreaker fleet, which comprises 42 ice-class vessels, eight of them nuclear-powered, creates prospects for the NSR to gain widespread popularity in the region," Kobyakov said.

According to him, Russia plans to build another 14 icebreakers by 2030. "No one else has anything close to that number. Nor will it be possible to rapidly expand an icebreaker fleet, as [US President Donald] Trump intends to do. It is a technologically complex, financially costly and lengthy process, which is why the issue of Greenland has come up," he stressed.

The Eastern Economic Forum will be held on September 1-4 in Vladivostok on the campus of the Far Eastern Federal University. The forum is organized by the Roscongress Foundation with the support of the Russian government. TASS is the general information partner.