Deputy PM: Northern Sea Route’s 2020 cargo traffic at 33 mln tns

MOSCOW, Feb 16 (PRIME) -- The cargo transportation through the Northern Sea Route amounted to almost 33 million tonnes in 2020, including 18 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev said at a meeting on Tuesday.

“The Northern Sea Route can become and would become the most important transport artery in Russia that cuts the sea voyage from Europe to Asia by more than 33%,” he said.

“In 2020, almost 33 million tonnes of cargo were transported through the Northern Sea Route, including more than 18 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas.”

He added that the route’s cargo traffic jumped by more than fivefold over the past five years.

“Today we are to discuss the latest voyage in the history of Arctic navigation, which was started on January 5, 2021 by shipping company Sovcomflot on behalf of Novatek with participation of state corporation Rosatom. The voyage is being done by the Arc-7 icebreaker LNG carrier Christophe de Margerie, which has new ability of navigation in ice conditions,” he said.

This voyage is another step toward implementation of the government’s plans to raise cargo traffic of the Northern Sea Route, he said.

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