by Lloyd's List
26 August 2024 (Lloyd's List) - CHINA and Russia have taken a further step in their Arctic shipping partnership with the establishment of a sub-commission to guide efforts on safety, technology, services, and ecosystem protection for the route on which Russia pins its hopes amid Western sanctions.
The establishment of the sub-commission was announced following China's Minister of Transport Li Xiaopeng’s visit to Russia last week. It will operate within the framework of the regular meeting between the heads of government of both countries.
Enhancing cooperation in the Arctic has been included in the latest joint statement signed by the prime ministers of both countries, covering sectors such as route development, shipping safety, and the construction of Arctic-class vessels.
The sub-commission will promote the Arctic shipping route, which is also known as the Northern Sea Route, within the global shipping market, and encourage more cooperation between companies from both sides, the joint statement said.
Russia has highlighted the prospects of the NSR as it has to redirect its trade towards the east due to Western sanctions imposed over the Ukraine war.
"Our goal is to quickly establish a joint programme to expand Chinese transit along the NSR and initiate several other projects that use this global route's significant developmental potential," Alexey Likhachev, general director of Rosatom, the state-owned energy giant in charge of the NSR project, said in an interview with local media.
While the NSR along Russia's northern coastline offers a shorter path between East Asia and Europe compared to the Suez Canal or the Cape of Good Hope, inadequate port infrastructure and the Arctic's unpredictable conditions impede its status as a fully viable shipping alternative.
Moreover, fear over sanctions is holding back Chinese investments.
Currently, the majority of ships using the NSR serve the market only between China and Russia nowadays.
At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum held in June, Rosatom signed an agreement with China's NewNew Shipping to develop a year-round container line between the ports of Russia and China via the NSR.
Rosatom said at the forum that five Arctic-class vessels will be constructed to facilitate NewNew Shipping's year-round operations.
