Northern Sea Route development deserves special attention, RF President Vladimir Putin said in his Address to the Federal Assembly.
‘We invite foreign logistics companies and foreign countries to use this global transport corridor. Last year, freight volumes along this route reached 36 million tonnes. Colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that this exceeds the Soviet-era maximum five times over. We will make the Northern Sea Route operational year-round and will expand our northern ports, including the Murmansk transport hub. This includes an effort to expand our Arctic fleet, of course,’ the President said.
‘The Severny Polyus (North Pole), a unique research icebreaking platform, sailed last year. This year, the Baltic Shipyard started building the Leningrad, a new nuclear icebreaker. Next year, we will start building the Stalingrad, which belongs to the same class of ships. As for the Zvezda Shipyard in Russia’s Far East, it is building the Lider (Leader), a new-generation icebreaker that will have double the power of its predecessors,’ Putin reminded.
‘Russia’s shipyards will upgrade much of our commercial fleet, including tankers, gas carriers and container ships. This effort is expected to enable Russian businesses to streamline their trade operations considering the changing logistics environment and radical shifts in the global economy,’ the Kremlin press office quotes the President as saying.
Last year, speaking at the opening of the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held this week in Beijing, China, Vladimir Putin invited all interested countries to get directly involved in the Northern Sea Route development. (https://seanews.ru/en/2023/10/18/en-vladimir-putin-invites-interested-countries-to-get-involved-northern-sea-route-development/)
Photo: Kremlin press office