The Marine Operations Headquarters of GlavSevmorput (a company of Rosatom) will provide information and navigation support, and ensure the availability of stand-by nuclear-powered icebreakers as part of the new service for container shipping on a regular basis along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) between China and Russia. On July 7, 2023, the NEWNEW POLAR BEAR container ship left St. Petersburg for its first voyage.The new line is a joint project of the Hainan Yangpu Newnew Shipping Co international sea line and Torgmoll cargo agent.
The ice-reinforced NEWNEW POLAR BEAR container ship has a capacity of 1600 TEU (stands for one standard 20-foot container). Onboard the ship there are export products of Russian manufacturers, mainly the North-West wood processing companies. The container ship will go along the Northern Sea Route. Depending on ice conditions, the estimated transit time is about 28 days. This route is one and a half times quicker than the route by the Suez Canal, which takes 45-50 days. In China, the ship is to call at the ports of Qingdao and Tianjin, while its final destination being Shanghai.
“This line will be used during the summer-autumn navigation season to connect our northern ports with the ports of China. During the summer-autumn navigation, open water and light ice conditions of the Northern Sea Route allow for navigating low ice class ships or ships without any ice class. But these voyages are of crucial importance for the exploitation of the containerized cargo export route. On behalf of the President of Russia, since last year, Rosatom has been organizing domestic cargo shipping on a regular basis, exploiting this line. Today we witnessed the start of an international project on the Northern Sea Route”, pointed out Vladimir Panov, Special Representative of Rosatom for the Development of the Arctic. “These voyages are pioneer and experimental. Our next task is to organize year-round eastward navigation on a regular basis.”
“Our goal is to make navigation along the NSR efficient, i.e. to ensure a high speed of passages, and safe. Yesterday, NEWNEW POLAR BEAR was given a permit to pass through the NSR. The Headquarters of Marine Operations will inform the captain about the safest route, arrangement of icebreakers, which, if necessary, can assist the vessel in passing through the ice,” said Sergey Zybko, Director General of GlavSevmorput. In order to provide assistance during the voyage, the company assigned an experienced specialist who has worked as a ship captain in the Arctic seas for many years, has experience in navigating along the NSR during various seasons, as well as experience in working with foreign crews. He is currently on board the NEWNEW POLAR BEAR.
Jing Ke, the representative of NewNew Shipping Line in Russia, noted that the Northern Sea Route is one of the strategic priorities in the China-Russian cooperation while the increase of traffic along this route will strengthen relations between the two countries. “NewNew Shipping Line has always been a reliable logistics partner. 4 ships are planned to cruise between the ports of St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad and ports of China, and one more ship between the port of Arkhangelsk and ports of China during the navigation season along the NSR in 2023. With the strong support of Rosatom and the Glavsevmorput, we are confident of completing the passage along the NSR successfully,” he added.
During the navigation season in 2023, four vessels with a capacity of 1600-3500 TEU are planned to cruise between St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad and the ports of China along the NSR. One vessel with a capacity of 1600 TEU will cruise between the port of Arkhangelsk and the ports of China to ship export and import cargo.
Previously, Hainan Yangpu Newnew Shipping Co. and Atomflot signed an agreement for a package of escort services to be provided to vessels in the waters of the Northern Sea Route from July 15 to October 30, 2023.
The First Container Terminal (PTK) in the Big Port of St. Petersburg is part of the Global Ports stevedoring holding of the Delo group of companies, whose shareholders are Sergey Shishkarev and Rosatom. PKT completed the operations with the NEWNEW POLAR BEAR on July 6-7, 2023.
Background
In 2018, Rosatom was assigned the NSR infrastructure operator responsible for the organization of the NSR navigation, construction of infrastructure facilities, navigation and hydrographic support, and a navigation safety system in the Arctic conditions. Rosatom curates two federal projects: "Development of the Northern Sea Route" and "Northern Sea Route - 2030", being involved in the implementation of the plan for the development of the Northern Sea Route until 2035, as well as the "Year-round Northern Sea Route” initiative for the social and economic development of the Russian Federation until 2030 approved by the order of the Government of the Russian Federation. The NSR Directorate of Rosatom includes Atomflot, Hydrographic Enterprise and GlavSevmorput.
Global Ports Investments PLC is the leading container terminal operator in terms of capacity and container throughput on the Russian market. Global Ports terminals are located in the Baltic sea and Far Eastern basins, which are the key regions for foreign cargo flows. Global Ports operates five container terminals in Russia (Petrolesport, First Container Terminal, Ust-Luga Container Terminal and Moby Dik in the Baltic, Vostochnaya Stevedoring Company in the Far East) and two container terminals in Finland (Multi-Link terminals in Helsinki and Kotka). Global Ports also owns the Yanino Logistics Park inland container terminal near St. Petersburg. The consolidated container throughput of Global Ports sea terminals reached 992K TEU in 2022.
Delo Group of Companies is the largest Russian transport and logistics holding that owns and manages a network of sea and rail container terminals, a fleet of containers, fitting platforms and a fleet. The holding is the main shareholder of Global Ports.
The comprehensive development of the Russian Arctic is a national strategic priority. To increase the traffic along the Northern Sea Route is of paramount importance for accomplishing the tasks set in the field of cargo shipping and delivery. The development of this logistics corridor is ensured with the organization of cargo shipping on a regular basis, the construction of new nuclear-powered icebreakers and modernization of the relevant infrastructure.
