Rosatom took part in a meeting of the NSR (the Northern Sea Route) Navigation Participants Council held on the sidelines of the XXVII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2024) on 7 June 2024.
The meeting brought together shipowners, freight operators, and cargo owners. In particular, among the participants were the Council Chairman Sergei Frank and Rosatom Special Representative for Arctic Development Vladimir Panov.
The meeting discussed the need for a state program to acquire and construct an Arctic cargo fleet; the development of Russian satellite constellations for the NSR; a pilot project to work out a state assignment for scientific research, taking into account the critical needs of the real economy, including for the purposes of the Arctic development; an investment project for the comprehensive development of the Tambey cluster of fields in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
Sergei Frank summed up the discussion: “Today we talked about strengthening cooperation with the shipbuilding industry as in a number of segments there is a need for the fleet replenishment and a new generation of ships. It is also important to synchronize the plans of cargo owners and shipowners with the plans of the industry. Besides, the meeting discussed providing ships on the NSR with satellite information in order to increase the safety and commercial efficiency of the NSR navigation. The Russian space industry came up with a number of interesting proposals and we see interesting mutually beneficial solutions. And, of course, the agenda included the development of relationships with our Chinese partners, considering the outcomes of the recent summits.”
“Geopolitics forces everyone to look for safer and more sustainable routes. Historical trade relations, which used to be stable, have now switched to the east, from the point of Russian imports and exports. Other countries, which also need to reconsider priorities in logistics from efficiency to safety, are interested in the NSR developing and becoming part of global maritime logistics, as the Suez and Panama Canals. Thus, the May visit of the Russian President to the PRC resulted in the state leaders’ decision to create a joint subcommittee on the development of the Northern Sea Route. We have agreed to hold the first meeting of the subcommittee in October. At this Council meeting, we and all the key companies have just made preparations for meetings of working groups that will develop the main proposals for October,” Vladimir Panov said at the end of the meeting.
Reference
The NSR Navigation Participants Council was established following a meeting on the Russian Arctic development held with the President of the Russian Federation in April 2022. The permanent Council members: Nornickel, Gazprom Neft, PAO Novatek, Rosneft, Baimsky GOK, Severnaya Zvezda OOO, Russian Navigation Chamber, Rosmorrechflot, Rosatom, Atomflot, Sovcomflot, Northern Shipping Company, FSUE Hydrographic Enterprise, FESCO (Far Eastern Shipping Company), Rusatom Cargo LLC, Delo Management Company, Sovfrakht OOO. The Council meetings discuss proposals for an action plan aimed at increasing the NSR navigation safety as well as the competitiveness of Russian Arctic shipbuilding.
In 2018, the Government of the Russian Federation appointed Rosatom the infrastructure operator of the Northern Sea Route (NSR). In December 2019, the Government of the Russian Federation approved the NSR Infrastructure Development Plan until 2035 prepared by Rosatom while the plan for the Northern Sea Route development until 2035 was approved on 1 August 2022. One of Rosatom’s strategic goals is to turn the Northern Sea Route into an effective transport artery connecting Europe, Russia and the Asia-Pacific region.
St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is a major event in the CIS economic space. The main theme of the SPIEF-2024 is ‘The Formation of New Areas of Growth as the Cornerstone of a Multipolar World’. Forum participants discuss the prospects for the development of healthcare and pharmaceuticals, the modern labour market, new technologies, the development of the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route, and much more. Rosatom is the title partner of the Forum in 2024.
