Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, the designated infrastructure operator of the Northern Sea Route, has established a joint venture with Dubai’s DP World, one of the world's top port operators, to develop container shipping through the Arctic.
The deal with one of the world's top port operators must be seen as a very important development for Moscow’s to realize its highly ambitious plans for further development and international use of the Northern Sea Route. The route, increasingly viable due to the melting of Arctic sea-ice due to climate change, runs from Europe / Eastern America by Murmansk near Russia's border with Norway along the coast of Siberia and through the Bering Strait between Chukotka in Russia and Alaska connecting to Western America and South East Asia - see map.
"As for the Northern Sea Route, Russia is not just inviting its partners to actively use its transit potential. I will say more: we invite interested states to directly participate in its development," Putin said in Beijing last week.
The joint venture, named International Container Logistics, was registered on 20 October 2023 in Moscow, with authorized share capital of 960 million rubles (€ 9.7 million or $10.2 million).
The company is 51% owned by a division of Rosatom, Rusatom Cargo, and 49% by the Russian registered division of DP World. Rusatom Cargo is the designated infrastructure operator of the Northern Sea Route.
"The collaboration between these two companies is aimed at developing an additional trade route for maritime container transportation through the Northern Sea Route. The immediate tasks include completing the design of infrastructure facilities, specifying the volume of investment needed and the work schedule," Rosatom said.
To better understand the business potential of the NSR in a global context the transits through the Zues Canal are roughly about 20.000 + ships per year, an average of 56 per day in 2021. In comparison transits through the NSR are still only in the hundreds per year. For further reference LNG´s export carriers from Sabetta in 2022 made 281 voyages, 251 to West and 30 to East.
The two companies first announced in 2021 that they would work together to pilot container shipping between northwest Europe and East Asia via the Arctic.
In June 2023, Rosatom and DP World signed an agreement to jointly develop the Eurasian logistics and container shipping along the Northern Sea Route.
State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom (ROSATOM) is one of the global technological leaders, with capacities in the nuclear sector and beyond, and business partners in 50 countries. The corporation includes about 400 enterprises and organizations employing a total of more than 330,000 people.
DP World is one of the world's top port operators. DP World is a multinational logistics company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It specializes in cargo logistics, port terminal operations, maritime services and free trade zones. It has more than 100,000 employees working in 75 countries.
Source: Arctic Century and Reuters
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