Despite the sanctions, Russia is purposefully engaged in the development of the Northern Sea Route, NHK writes. Now Moscow is trying to involve the countries of the Global South in the implementation of this project. The UAE has already responded.
The fierce US-Russian rivalry in the context of the military conflict in Ukraine extends to the Arctic.
Moscow is actively promoting the development of the Northern Sea Route as a national policy, including the construction and deployment of nuclear icebreakers. Against the backdrop of harsh economic sanctions of the West, Russia is trying to find a way out by connecting the countries of the Arctic Ocean and the global South.
The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is the shortest route between Asia and Europe. It is more than 30% shorter than the route through the Suez Canal. Liquefied natural gas produced in the Arctic is already being transported along this route. Since the Arctic ice is actively melting due to global warming, the future of Russia as a maritime power depends to a great extent on the implementation of the Northern Sea Route project. Because of the conflict in Ukraine, the conflict between Russia and other Arctic coastal countries, such as the USA, Canada, Norway and others, has escalated. Nevertheless, Moscow continues to purposefully develop the NSR project, firmly intending to increase cargo flows through it to 270 million tons by 2035, which is more than four times the current level.
The core of this megaproject is the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom. One of the numerous areas of responsibility of Rosatom in the Arctic Ocean is the development of coastal infrastructure by placing highly mobile powerful floating nuclear power plants on ship platforms here. In the foreseeable future, it is planned to increase the number of such floating nuclear power plants along the coast, near which the NSR route passes, to 15 units
Another area of activity is to accelerate the deployment of nuclear icebreakers in the eastern part of the Northern Sea Route, where the ice is especially thick. This is necessary to ensure the year-round operation of the route. Currently, Russia has seven such super-icebreakers, but by 2026 it is planned to increase their number to nine, and by the 2030s to 13.
In July 2018, I covered the construction of a nuclear icebreaker at a shipyard in St. Petersburg. Three nuclear icebreakers were being created at the same time at the huge shipyard. There I felt firsthand Russia's firm intention to develop the megaproject of the Northern Sea Route. At that time, a nuclear icebreaker with a capacity of 60 megawatts was being built, and it was reported that it could work in ice three meters thick. Three such icebreakers are already operating in the Arctic Ocean. In addition, it was decided to build a huge nuclear icebreaker with a capacity of 120 megawatts in Russia. It is reported that he will be able to work on ice already four meters thick.
Why does Russia maintain such energy and determination in the Arctic, despite tough sanctions from the United States and Europe? Rosatom is the world's largest nuclear energy state—owned company capable of doing everything from uranium enrichment to electricity generation, as well as processing and storage of nuclear waste. In Soviet times, it was called the Ministry of Medium Engineering and actively participated in the development and production of nuclear weapons. Rosatom operates the Zaporizhia NPP on the territory of Ukraine occupied by Russia.
However, Rosatom is not included in any sanctions list, for example, the United States or Japan. The thing is that this company accounts for about 45% of the world's production of enriched uranium – raw materials for nuclear energy. The global energy sector, including the American one, depends on uranium enriched by Rosatom. The United States continues to import this raw material from Russia and pays one billion dollars a year for it. Undoubtedly, the Putin administration, having made Rosatom the main company in the development of the Northern Sea Route, is trying to take advantage of the special position of this company, which makes it difficult for the West to bring it under its sanctions.
Now Russia and Rosatom are trying to involve the countries of the so-called global South, for example, from the Middle East, in the implementation of the Northern Sea Route project. Last month, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was held in St. Petersburg, Putin's hometown. In the past, companies from Europe, the USA and Japan, seeking to invest and participate in the Russian market, mainly in the energy sector, often participated in these meetings. But with the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, Western companies from the SPIEF sphere disappeared. But this year, representatives of the global South, including the countries of the Middle East and Africa, stood out especially among the participants of the forum. The UAE, the United Arab Emirates, sent a particularly large delegation.
The United Arab Emirates, like other countries in the Middle East, does not participate in economic sanctions against Russia. While European, American and Japanese airlines have canceled flights to the country, the UAE capital Abu Dhabi still connects it with the rest of the world and serves as a "hub" for the movement of people and goods to and from Russia. At the economic forum in St. Petersburg, Rosatom signed an agreement with DP World, the UAE's state-owned global transport and logistics company, on cooperation in freight forwarding and investment using the Northern Sea Route. DP World transports cargo and operates port terminals around the world. It has significantly increased the number of its bases in Africa and is working to improve logistics from north to south from Russia and Central Asia through the Caspian Sea to the Indian Ocean.
Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev said at the forum: "Despite the impact of sanctions, the transformation of the Northern Sea Route into a global logistics route will also benefit our colleagues in the UAE."
Chairman and CEO of DP Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem noted: "We are a global logistics company, and Russia is an important transport corridor connecting East and West. The Russian route has many advantages to avoid disruptions in logistics, so we are actively involved in [the project] and provide it with all possible support."
By joining the Northern Sea Route now, DP World is likely to increase its competitiveness in the future. On the other hand, Rosatom, faced with tough sanctions from the United States and other Western countries, is purposefully working on a project to increase exports of goods, energy and other resources, as well as food to countries of the global South, such as India, the Middle East and Africa. In this regard, he is actively developing the Arctic coast. It seems that Russia has a firm intention to use the DP World global network to accelerate the development of the Northern Sea Route, as well as to obtain goods, technologies and funds necessary to promote the NSR project in the global South.
On the fourth of July, an online summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was held under the chairmanship of India, and Iran became an official member state of this organization. Tehran's accession to the SCO reflects Beijing and Moscow's intention to connect the East–West corridors, such as the Northern Sea Route and China's One Belt, One Road, with the North–South corridor, which runs through Russia to the Caspian Sea, Central Asia, Iran and the Indian Ocean.
Although India became the chairman of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization for the first time, the meeting was held not in person, but online. This allowed the states of the global South to maintain their position of disagreement with Western sanctions against Russia. However, how far they are willing to go in cooperation with Moscow remains a question. In any case, now we can say that until the conflict in Ukraine ends, these ties will be somewhat limited.
The rapid melting of ice in the Arctic Ocean caused by global warming has become one of the reasons for the development of the Northern Sea Route. Another reason is the end of the Cold War, which allowed us to establish logistics in the east–west direction. However, due to the conflict in Ukraine, Europe and the United States are in a tough confrontation with Russia. And although Moscow is showing an optimistic attitude towards the implementation of the Northern Sea Route project, we can say that the geopolitical situation around it has become more complicated.
The Arctic Ocean is also the closest point of contact where the nuclear potentials of the United States and Russia really confront each other. Since the Cold War, American and Soviet nuclear submarines have been tracking and chasing each other in these ice-covered waters. But now the ice has begun to melt, and these open ocean expanses have become a kind of military demarcation line between Russia and NATO member countries such as the United States, Canada and Norway. The Arctic Council, which was a forum for discussing issues requiring international cooperation in the Arctic, actually ceased to function in the context of the conflict between Moscow and Washington.
However, there are many problems in the Arctic region that require international cooperation and a fine balancing of the interests of the parties. Among them are the preservation of the ecosystem of the Arctic Ocean, the fight against global warming, the preservation of habitual living conditions and habitat of local indigenous peoples. How to continue the dialogue with Russia in order to protect the Arctic Ocean, which greatly affects the entire globe, is a difficult question.
Author of the article: Ichiyo Ishikawa
