China's Newnew Shipping Line to supply five vessels to the Northern Sea Route

Chinese shipping company Newnew Shipping Line will supply five ice-class vessels for regular transportation along the Northern Sea Route (NSR). As noted by TASS, the representative of the line Ke Jin told journalists on the sidelines of a press conference dedicated to just the opening of the company's regular service of container transportation through the NSR between Russia and China. Vessels will hold from 1.2 thousand to 2.5 thousand TEU, transportation is planned to perform until October-November.

"We will deliver five vessels this year. All of them are of ice class. The vessels are from 1,200 TEU to 2,500 TEU," Ke Jin told.

He specified that the shipments will last until October-November. "It depends on the weather. ... Maybe there will be good weather, we will extend until November, because for us it will be interesting, profitable," - emphasized the representative of Newnew Shipping Line.

Accompanying the voyages from China along the Northern Sea Route will be "Glavsevmorput", established within the structure of "Rosatom" (the operator of the transport corridor) specifically for the organization of navigation, including icebreaker escorts, in the waters of the NSR, as well as for the issuance of permits for passage along the route.

"Glavsevmorput Marine Operations Headquarters has selected experienced specialists who have spent their entire lives as captains in the Arctic seas, have experience in guiding ships along the Northern Sea Route at various times of the year and have experience working with the crews of foreign vessels. The Maritime Operations Headquarters monitors the movement of all vessels along the Northern Sea Route 24 hours a day, and it is the provision of the safest route. There are also icebreakers nearby, which, if ice suddenly appears, will take over the safety function", - explained Sergey Zybko, Director General of FGBU Glavsevmorput.

He also noted that a total of 968 permits for navigation along the Northern Sea Route have been issued since August 2022, of which 576 permits have been issued since January 1 of this year.

The Northern Sea Route is the shortest water route between the European part of Russia and the Far East. It completely passes within the territorial waters and exclusive economic zone of Russia, thanks to which it does not depend on sanctions and other external decisions.

Due to the latest after February 24, 2022, the attention to this transport corridor on the part of the Russian authorities has increased. In particular, it is offered to China as an alternative option for the delivery of goods to Europe.

However, the stated transportation time, which is ideally shorter compared to delivery via the Suez Canal, is largely determined by weather conditions. In addition, due to the need for icebreaker escort, the cost of transportation via the Northern Sea Route is high. Plus, the period of active use of the transportation corridor is limited by the Arctic navigation period, which is only 4-5 months.