The lesson from the Suez Canal: the Northern Sea Route needs to be used year-round

Alexey Gromov, Principal Director on Energy Studies of the Institute for Energy and Finance, gave a comment to the Internet portal "Economy Today" on the prospects for developing the Northern Sea Route.

It is important for Russia to show that the Northern Sea Route (NSR) is used all year round. This factor will have a much greater impact on cargo transportation than the accident in the Suez Canal, which provoked a rush to send goods through the Far East, Alexei Gromov, Energy Director of the Institute for Energy and Finance said in a conversation with the Economics Today FBA.

Transport group Fesco reported that container traffic through the Far East in March increased by 55%, including due to the transfer of goods from the route through the Suez Canal.

“What we are seeing now is not a long-term trend,” explains Alexey Gromov. - The sharp increase in interest in alternative routes was associated precisely with force majeure circumstances on the Suez Canal. Many shippers are bound by long-term contracts for the use of the Suez Canal. Therefore, it is obvious that as soon as the consequences of the accident have passed, the channel load will return to its usual values. "

“For Russia, a much more important factor is how intensively the route will be used in the autumn-winter time, when the icebreaker fleet is used. It is necessary to demonstrate that the NSR is used year-round, which will have a much greater impact than the accident in the Suez Canal, which can be attributed to the opportunistic reasons for a temporary increase in demand,” Alexey Gromov is sure.