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Shipping to double on Northern Sea Route

Photo: usinsk.e.ru

KIRKENES. More than 1,5 million tons of goods will be shipped along the Northern Sea Route in 2012, regional authorities in Murmansk say.

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While a total of 820,000 tons of goods was shipped along the Northern Sea Route in 2011, the volumes are expected to almost double in 2012, regional minister of Property Relations Yuri Chuykov said at the Kirkenes Conference.

In his presentation at the conference, Minister Chuykov underlined the key importance of the Northern Sea Route. While the goods volumes on the route in 2010 was only 111,000 tons, the volumes will in 2012 increase to more than 1,5 million tons, Chuykov said.

In 2011, the number of vessels using the route in 2011 amounted to 34.

Read also: 34 vessel in transit on Northern Sea Route

Several regional industrial initiatives in Murmansk will benefit from the improved shipping conditions on the route. According to Chuykov, the project preparation of the railway line to the western shore of the Kola Bay as well as the planned oil and coal terminals in the area are about to be be completed.

The first objects to be built on the western side of the bay are the new coal terminal, the oil terminal, as well as new residential areas, the regional minister said.