- I think it is only a question of time when the Northern Sea Route will be administrated from Arkhangelsk, Governor Mikhailchuk told news agency Rosbalt. - The Northeast passage starts from this region, and therefore it is natural that the operating company’s administration is located here.
An administration office for the Northern Sea Route could give Arkhangelsk Oblast a boost in development through increased freight traffic, fleet enlargement and expanded authority, Mr. Mikhailchuk says.
Ilya Mikhailchuk earlier this year urged that Russia should speed up the development of the Northern Sea Route, since climate change soon might make it possible to use the North East Passage outside the Russian 200 miles zone.
The Northern Sea Route is Russia’s main arterial sea road in the Arctic. Along this route, all ports along the Russian northern coast are provided with fuel, materials and supplies, and timber and other natural resources are being brought out of the area. The main users of the route are Norilsk Nickel, Gazprom, Lukoil, Rosneft and Rosshelf.
In september, BarentsObserver could report that two German merchant vessels became the first foreign commercial vessels to make it through the formerly impenetrable passage without assistance of icebreakers.
Following the climate changes and rapidly decreasing sea ice in the Arctic, there is a growing interest in exploitation of the Northeast Passage. This is the shortest sea route between the Far East and the European parts of Russia. The distance from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok is 14.000 kilometers, compared to 23.000 kilometers through the Suez Canal.
