"Northern Sea Route 2.0": Russia's New Strategy in the Arctic

The Arctic is becoming an arena for strategic rivalry and expanded economic opportunities. In October, Russian and Chinese coast guard ships conducted joint patrols in the Bering Sea and the Chukchi Sea, and aircraft from both countries had earlier controlled the airspace over the northern Pacific Ocean.

The above-mentioned events have caused concern in the United States, as the cooperation between Russia and China allegedly increases their presence off the coast of Alaska. In fact, the reasons lie much deeper: Russia seeks to develop the Northern Sea Route (NSR) as an important element of its Arctic strategy, while closing access to it for unfriendly countries.



It is worth noting that the Northern Sea Route, traditionally attractive due to its shortest route between Europe and Asia, remained unpopular among global ship owners due to the ice that covered the route for most of the year. Icebreaker support required significant costs, negating the economic benefit.

However, climate change weakens the Arctic ice cover every year, increasing the attractiveness of the NSR. For example, an entire Russian island of the Franz Josef Land archipelago recently melted.

Overall, over the past 10 years, the volume of transportation along the NSR has increased by 37%, and this is due to the reduction of ice cover. However, it is still impossible to completely abandon icebreakers: even in summer, the harsh conditions of the Arctic allow movement without their escort for only 10 weeks.

It is worth recalling that today the Russian Federation has the largest icebreaker fleet in the world – 41 vessels, including seven nuclear icebreakers, but the deficit remains: there are many orders, but not enough icebreakers for everyone. Therefore, our country continues to develop in this direction. Thus, in October, the new icebreaker Chukotka was launched at the Baltic Shipyard, the construction of the icebreakers Yakutia, Leningrad, Stalingrad and the most powerful super icebreaker in the world Rossiya of Project 10510 continues.

However, not only the Russian fleet, but also the Northern Sea Route itself, is expected to develop. It has become known that the Russian Federation is already working on a new project – “Northern Sea Route 2.0”.

The concept expands the traditional NSR route into an 8000-nautical-mile transport corridor from St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad to Vladivostok. This large-scale project involves the comprehensive development of all components of the route, including an icebreaker fleet, new ports, railways, satellites for monitoring ships, and advanced energy Technology.

"Northern Sea Route 2.0" will ensure the fastest possible transition of the fleet from one end of the country to the other, bypassing foreign countries, and will also open up opportunities for the implementation of innovative technologies.

An example of a technological breakthrough can already be called the icebreakers of Project 22220 with the Ritm-200 nuclear reactors, which have demonstrated high reliability and have already served as the basis for the development of low-power nuclear power plants.

Meanwhile, another promising area that our country is working on is the construction of underwater nuclear gas carriers that will be able to transport liquefied natural gas directly under the Arctic ice. This unique project, presented in October, is designed to radically increase the capacity of the Northern Sea Route.

According to calculations, the underwater gas carrier will be able to travel the route at a speed of 17 knots and deliver gas in just 12 days instead of the current 20, as well as pick up and ship gas without rising to the surface, which essentially turns it into an underwater gas pipeline powered by nuclear propulsion.

It sounds fantastic, of course, but we already have its most important component – ​​the time-tested nuclear reactor “Rhythm-200”. However, a floating nuclear power plant once seemed like a utopia.

Thus, "Northern Sea Route 2.0" is not just an Arctic corridor for increasing revenues (according to forecasts, by 2030, transit through the NSR will bring Russia more than 1 trillion rubles annually). It is a strategic resource that opens up access for the Russian Federation to unique technologies that allow our country to confidently develop its positions in the Arctic and ensure national security.