On June 15, 2023, Russia’s Rosatom State Corporation and DP World signed an agreement on mutual development of Eurasian transport logistics and container transportation using the NorthernSea Route in St. Petersburg, Rosatom said in a statement.
The signing ceremony was attended by Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev and DPW Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.
The agreement paves way to developing sustainable container shipping by the Northern Sea Route to complement the existing shipping routes around the Horn of Africa or via the Suez.
The shipping industry generates some 3% of the global greenhouse emissions. By cutting the distance between Asia and Europe and deploying LNG-powered vessels using the Northern Sea Route will allow of significantly reducing the environmental impact of shipping compared to the current routes around Africa or via Suez, Rosatom noted.
‘The global trade is growing, and to offer reliable global supply chains we need efficient, safe and rhythmic routes to transport cargo. The strategic cooperation between Raastom and DP World will help disclose the transit potential of the Northern Sea Route, which is one of such routes. It will give international trade players an opportunity to improve the safety and variability of the routes they use and reduce the transit time and the environmental impact,’ Likhachev said.
‘Global trade needs global solutions. The losses resulting from the blockage of the Suez in 2020 that demonstrated the vulnerability of the global trade to external shocks leading to delays in supply chains are estimated to make $9 billon. The Northern Sea Route can change both the global trade and the environmental impact. It will not only allow of reducing the carbon print of shipping , but also will offer an alternative to customers who now depend on the only trade route,’ the Rosatom press office quotes Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem as saying.
Photo: SeaNews