Last November, at the St. Petersburg Forum on the Northern Territories, Sergey Frank, Minister of Transportation of the Russian Federation, declared the Northern Sea Route, together with the Trans-Siberian Route, as very important for Russia. They connect the Russian Far East with the country's western regions. At the same time, the Minister noted that the North Sea Route is the shortest waterway between Northwest Europe, the Asian Pacific region and the western coast of the US and Canada.
        Sergey Frank said it is no coincidence that everything related to the Northern Sea Route plays an important role in Russia's national transportation policy. Despite the country's budget difficulties, this policy strives to improve and develop the material, technical and organizational foundations of the Arctic marine transportation system, making it more attractive to its body of customers.
        At the Forum, the Minister said our main task is to create the necessary conditions in the infrastructure to revive the economy and social life of the Far North, stimulating its stable development. This is obviously a national priority. Yet we must not forget the international component of this problem. Russia began to integrate the Northern Sea Route with the world transportation system in 1991, officially announcing that conditions for international navigation along the Northern Sea Route had been prepared. At the International Eurasian Transportation Conference in May 1998, the Northern Sea Route was declared an independent Eurasian transportation corridor.
        During the preparation stage of the II International Eurasian Conference, we asked the Minister several questions about the present and future of the Northern Sea Route. Here are Sergey Frank's answers:
        -What measures should be taken to provide the stable and safe operation of the Northern Sea Route?
        It is important to keep the integrity of national transportation under state control. Having this in mind, we need to provide for the construction of a new generation of icebreakers. Until they are ready, we must work on extending the service of existing atomic icebreakers. This will allow us to use them for an additional 4 - 6 years. The improvement of the Northern Sea Route's material and technical foundation means incorporating special ice-class ships into the Arctic marine transportation system. These ships will provide the movement of oil and gas from new deposits on the Arctic coast and sea shelf. They will also deliver cargo to the population, the industrial enterprises and the transportation base operating in the area. In some territories of the Russian Federation, sea transportation is the only means of carrying the bulk of cargo.
        The Ministry of Transportation has developed measures that will facilitate the construction of the 50 YEARS TO VICTORY atomic icebreaker in St. Petersburg by the year 2004. We have also taken another important decision together with Russia's Minatom: the Marine Fleet's Central Research Institute together with the Krylov Institute have been asked to prepare the project for the construction of new generation icebreakers and a new 25 megawatt diesel/electric icebreaker.
        OAO Lucoil has already finished in Germany the construction of five ice-class tankers with a capacity of 16.000 tons. We have signed a contract with the Admiralty Shipyards (St. Petersburg) for the construction of five more UL ice-class tankers with a capacity of 20.000 tons. In March this year, we raised the Russian national flag on the Astrakhan - the leading ship in this tanker series. MANAS is the name of the next tanker to come into service. The construction of the other tankers in the series will be completed by 2002. The great advantage for Russia is that it will no longer have to lease foreign tankers for the transportation of Arctic oil products.
        Russia's economic needs are the most important reason for preserving and developing the Northern Sea Route, at a time when resource extraction and primary processing in the Far North has become dislocated. The Northern regions hold a vast supply of energy, mineral and forest resources. Their extraction and processing will fulfill both domestic and international needs.
        - Can the Arctic transportation system become self-supporting?
        Up until the end of the 80s, the Arctic transportation system was self-supporting. The volume of sea traffic reached 7 million tons in 1987. In order to achieve self-sufficiency we must raise the volume of cargo along the Northern Sea Route up to 10 million tons. This volume is likely to be reached by 2008 - 2010.
        -Is cargo traffic possible on the Northern Sea Route between the ports of Western Europe, North America, the Far East and South East Asia? Is it possible to transport Russian metals and fertilizers abroad through the Northern Sea Route, without using the Suez Canal? This way we could secure an income of hundreds of millions of dollars.
        In 1993 - 1997 the volume of sea cargo along the Northern Sea Route was already 150 - 200 thousand tons a year. Cargo traffic peaked in 1993, during the Arctic's summer shipping season. During that period, 15 Russian ships with 210 thousand tons of transit goods passed along the Route. Also, 8 ships carrying metals, fertilizers and timber traveled from ports in Russia, Latvia, Sweden and Finland to China, Japan, and Thailand. 7 ships from China carried oilcake, bauxite, magnetite and other operating supplies to Holland, England, Ireland, Germany, and Spain.         In regards to your second question, experience from past shipping seasons shows that, provided there is proper icebreaker escort, 25 - 30 ships can cross the Route during the Arctic's summer navigation period (from the end of June to the end of November). This means 350 - 400 thousand tons of cargo including Russian metals and fertilizers for export.
        -Do you consider the Northern Sea Route an independent transportation corridor?
        In May 1998, during the International Eurasian Transportation Conference in St. Petersburg, the Northern Sea Route was declared an independent Eurasian transportation corridor.
        In 1995, a ship with scientists from Japan, Russia, Norway, and Canada traveled along the Northern Sea Route from the port of Yokohama (Japan) to the port of Kirkines (Norway). The scientists observed the resistance of the ship's body in the ice under conditions of both independent sailing and icebreaker escorting. They concluded that ships like the KANDALAKSHA were suitable for voyages along the Northern Sea Route.
        In the future, the Northern Sea Route will be used in two ways. First, it should cater to the economic development of Russia's Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. Second, it should provide international trans-oceanic cargo transportation.
        We think that profits from the Northern Sea Route may amount to more than 200 million dollars. However, the reorientation of cargo traffic will require significant efforts. Certain political decisions will be needed because the interests of Ukraine and the Baltic countries will be affected.
        Last November in Oslo, with the initiative of Norway and Japan, the conference took place under the motto "The Northern Sea Route: the XXI century's route". The conference summarized the results of the international Northern Sea Route (INSROP) project for the years 1993 - 1995. More than 450 scientists and other specialists from 14 countries participated in the research work. They concluded that the Route is appropriate for international commercial shipping from a technical, economic and ecological point of view.

Felix Katzman
Vice-president,
Russian Academy of Transport

         There are several aspects that single out the Russian Arctic zone from the many other districts, places, and territories of the globe. First of all: the untold wealth in its bowels. Its role and significance increase because of the seas and bays surrounding the shores of the Arctic, that form a united transportation line: the Northern Sea Route.
        In March this year, the Russian Government adopted the Conception of Development in the North. Its basis is transportation, and above all, sea transportation. Thanks to this type of transportation Northern Russia and the 12 percent of Russia's population that live there supply one fifth of the national budget's total income.
        There is no doubt that the Northern Sea Route is the Russian Arctic's natural resource. This main transportation artery connects continents and countries located on three oceans: the Arctic, the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. It is not only the basis of economic stability in the North but also a very important part of Russian and international transportation systems. The mouths of Russia's main rivers like the Northern Dvina, Lena, Ob, Yenisei, Angara etc. are located on the seas which make the Northern Sea Route. These rivers cross the richest regions of Russia's Northwest, Ural, Siberia and the Far East connecting the largest train lines with mouth ports on the Northern Sea Route, making a united Arctic transportation system. The Northern Sea Route is the basis of this system.
        It is the shortest line between the ports of Western Europe, Russia, the Far East, and South East Asia. By guaranteeing a stable system, a significant part of the cargo presently transported through the Suez Canal can be carried through the Northern Sea Route.
        The Route can serve as a reliable alternative and it may compete with the Suez Canal. This is of no small importance, taking into consideration that no less than 80 mln tons of cargo per annum go through the Suez Canal towards the South (i.e. export from Western Europe) and to the West (Far East import). This cargo includes rolled metals, ore, oil products and other materials, which are also transportable through the Northern Sea Route.
        There is strong evidence which indicates that the Northern Sea Route is more effective in comparison with the Suez and Panama Canals. For example, ships cover 12840 miles from Murmansk to Yokohama (Japan) through the Suez Canal, while only 5770 miles on the Northern Sea Route. The route from Rotterdam through the Suez Canal covers 11250 miles, and through the Northern Sea Route only 7350 miles. A vessel must sail 9700 miles from Murmansk to Vancouver (Canada) through the Panama Canal and 5400 miles through the Northern Sea Route. The trip from Rotterdam to Vancouver is of 8920 miles through the Panama Canal and 6980 miles through the Northern Sea Route.
        These and other advantages of the Northern Sea Route were presented at the First International Eurasian Transport Conference. The measures and decisions that had previously been taken for the development of effective Eurasian transportation links were confirmed in its final declaration. The importance of the Northern Sea Route was the first point to be ratified for it was considered of special significance in the development of effective Eurasian links. The Conference defined the Northern Sea Route as an independent Eurasian transport corridor.
         The role of the Northern Sea Route as an independent transportation passage has considerably increased during these last years. This is connected with the development of Russia's oil and gas extraction from the Arctic shelf and the increase in cargo transportation from Norilsk metallurgical enterprise, one of the biggest world producers and exporters of non-ferrous metals.
        The issues related to the Northern Sea Route can not be studied separately from the general problems of the Russian Arctic. It is no coincidence they attract international attention. The Russian-Norwegian-Japanese team known as INSROP is devoted to researching the possibilities of the Northern Sea Route. However, the effective functioning of the Northern Sea Route as an international transportation passage, which would solve cargo transportation problems by fulfilling the economic needs of Russia and by complying with international requirements, is possible only if addressing the following issues:
        - The creation of a normative and legal base for the Northern Sea Route to function as an international transportation passage, that indicates the order of access of foreign ships to the route and the ports on the route, along with requirements of navigation safety, etc.
        - The renovation and enlargement of the fleet of icebreakers to provide navigation on all lines of the Northern Sea Route irrespective of season and ice conditions. At present there are six nuclear icebreakers working on the route. Soon, after the "Arctic" icebreaker is written off, there will be only 5 ships. According to a most simple calculation, the icebreaker fleet has to be increased at least twofold.
        - The creation of necessary measures regarding navigation safety, including hydrographic safety procedures on all routes with soundings, hydrographic signs, etc.
        - The implementation of measures to provide solutions for social and economic problems, in particular a final resolution to the issue of food delivery to the regions of the North. The principle of survival must to be replaced with the satisfaction of people's fundamental needs.
        - The provision of qualified personnel for the functioning of the route, in particular the training of navigators for work on the Arctic ice-breakers, as well as hydrographers, meteorologists, oceanographers and other specialists.
        - The industrial development of the Arctic with an emphasis on the increase in oil and gas extraction and the transportation of hydrocarbon cargo. This requires special attention to the ecological protection of the North. Thousands of tons of sulfur dioxide and other harmful substances are thrown into the atmosphere in the area of Norilsk, Northern Nickel and other enterprises. This creates intolerable pressure upon the environment and destroys useful areas (pastures, etc.)
        - The creation of a service infrastructure along the whole international transportation passage, i.e. cargo terminals, logistic and communication centers, etc.
        - The development of a concept followed by a Federal program for the development of the Northern Sea Route as an international transportation line. Special attention must be placed on factors that provide favorable cargo transportation conditions. Customs service, tariffs, port fees, guaranteed safety for cargo, traffic safety, etc. must be priorities.

The Northern Sea Route and the entire Russian Arctic region are the country's national wealth and they require the government's special attention.