Putin sees only Russian ships with hydrocarbons using N Sea Route

MOSCOW, Nov 16 (PRIME) -- The parliament’s lower house State Duma should soon approve a law allowing ships with only Russian flags to ship hydrocarbons via the Northern Sea Route, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday during a government meeting devoted to the development of Far Eastern shipyard Zvezda.

“This concerns provision of ships that sail under the Russian flag with an exclusive right to transport and store hydrocarbons in the water are of the Northern Sea Route. This step will allow us to increase the volume of sea shipments and improve the position of national shipping companies, as well as create additional possibilities for upgrade of the fleet they own,” he said.

The Duma is considering the bill. “I expect it to approve the bill very soon,” he said.

The government may also expand the regulation to other water zones of Russia. “In addition to that, there are other proposals, including expansion of this regulation to other water zones of our country. Let’s analyze everything and all issues so that each our step is precise and done without any hurry,” he said.

End