Russia accelerates development of Arctic shipping route
Faced with Western sanctions, developing the Arctic shipping route is becoming one of Russia's top priorities. Russia will mainly focus on three aspects: first, strengthening strategic planning; Secondly, attach importance to policy support; The third is to strengthen control and management. Compared to other international shipping routes, the Arctic shipping route has obvious advantages, but there are also shortcomings such as insufficient infrastructure and low navigation safety levels. Its development is not achieved overnight and requires joint efforts from multiple departments.
Since the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis, Western countries such as the United States and Europe have continuously increased their sanctions against Russia. In this context, Russia's foreign economic and trade activities are showing a trend of "repositioning", with the role of the Arctic shipping route receiving increasing attention. For Russia, under the collective blockade of the West, increasing efforts to develop the Arctic shipping route is not only important but also necessary.
Russian Prime Minister Mishustin believes that under the pressure of sanctions, the task of developing the Arctic shipping route is becoming one of the country's top priorities. He stated that the Arctic shipping route is a reliable and safe transportation corridor that can serve as an alternative route for transporting goods with friendly countries. Nikolai Korchynov, the Ambassador at Large of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, believes that due to the uncertain economic outlook and political and legal risks, the European market is losing its previous attractiveness, and cooperation with it faces more uncertainties. For this reason, the Arctic shipping route is playing an increasingly important role in ensuring the smooth operation of the global economy.
At present, the Arctic shipping route is attracting more and more attention. Since the beginning of this year, Russia has frequently implemented policies related to it, and the "heat" in the extremely cold regions of the earth has risen. In order to promote the development of the Arctic region and Arctic shipping routes, Russian President Putin held a special conference on the development of the Arctic region in the second quarter. He stated at the meeting that considering external restrictions and sanctions pressure, Russia needs to pay special attention to projects and plans related to the Arctic and accelerate their implementation to the maximum extent possible.
Overall, Russia will mainly focus on three aspects:
One is to strengthen strategic planning. On July 31st, before the naval parade in the "Northern Capital" St. Petersburg, Putin signed a new version of Russia's national maritime policy and strategic planning document for maritime activities, which specifically defined the development direction and priorities for the Arctic region and Arctic shipping routes. One of Russia's priorities in the region is to create conditions for the development of the Arctic shipping route into a national level transportation channel with international influence, while also improving navigation management, developing infrastructure such as ports, and enhancing supporting services in navigation, hydrology, and meteorology.
Secondly, we attach great importance to policy support. In early August, Mishustin signed a decree approving Russia's Arctic shipping development plan before 2035. The plan is expected to have a total investment of nearly 1.8 trillion rubles, with a focus on developing the following areas: firstly, developing export cargo bases, coastal transportation, and transit transportation. It plans to open regular coastal routes between St. Petersburg, Murmansk, and Far Eastern ports, and establish specialized container operators; Secondly, upgrading and renovating existing Arctic ports and constructing new ports, with plans to build 12 new port terminals; The third is to develop icebreaking fleets and build new ships, with a plan to build a total of 153 ships including 12 icebreakers and rescue ships by 2035; The fourth is to establish and improve the basic and personnel support for hydrology, medical care, satellites, and emergency response; The fifth is to develop a supporting information system, which plans to develop a supporting information and digital service system for Arctic shipping operation enterprises to predict ship flow, record ice data and meteorological conditions.
The third is to strengthen control and management. The Russian government has submitted to the State Duma (lower house of parliament) a relevant legal system drafted by the Ministry of Defense with the aim of "determining the passage of foreign warships and other non-commercial state-owned vessels in the waters of Russia". The Russian government stated that global climate change and the melting of Arctic ice will inevitably lead to an increase in the transportation volume of Arctic shipping routes and military activities of countries in the region. According to the bill, the above-mentioned ships must submit an application through diplomatic channels 90 days in advance and obtain special permission before entering the waters of the Russian Arctic Channel, and must strictly follow the established route after entering. In addition, the bill allows the Department of Defense and the Federal Security Service to deny foreign vessels entry into the waters of the Arctic Ocean. According to current legislation, foreign ships, warships, and other government vessels enjoy immunity and can peacefully pass through the Arctic shipping route. However, this legislative action has aroused suspicion from the outside world. Russian President's Special Representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transport Ivanov stated that Russia has no interest in prohibiting other countries from passing through the waterway, as this is not in line with Russia's national interests.
Compared to other international shipping routes, the Arctic shipping route has obvious advantages, but there are also significant shortcomings, such as eliminating "infrastructure deserts" along the route, ensuring navigation safety, and extending navigation time, which urgently need to be addressed. Russia has provided strategic planning, policy support, and legislative protection for the development of the Arctic shipping route, but its development is not achieved overnight.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Plenipotentiary in the Far Eastern Federal District, Trutnev, stated that cutting off economic ties with unfriendly Western countries will lead to a shift in Russian exports towards the East, resulting in a sharp increase in the load on the Baikal Amur mainline and Siberian railway, some of which can and should be borne by the Arctic shipping route. But the development of the Arctic shipping route requires joint efforts from multiple departments. (Li Chunhui, Moscow correspondent for Economic Daily)
