SCHIFFSTECHNIK | SHIP
SCHIFFSTECHNIK | SHIP TECHNOLOGY partner to advance the development and operation of transport and logistics capacities along the Arctic route. Will one of Russias traditional shipping routes be reactivated? ploration and transport of raw material deposits. On the other hand, the sea route is also repeatedly brought into play for »other« ship transports between Asia and Europe, be it for tankers, bulkers, container ships or not least project cargo vessels, which transit the NSR already from time to time. However, there is still some way to go before more or less regular services can be realised. It is also about the uninterrupted supply of goods for the population and the economy in the far north. However, for Russia modern ships, maritime safety facilities and, last but not least, transhipment sites and ports are still needed for this challenging sea region. Accordingly, the state is committed to pushing ahead with modernisation. In spring, for example, Moscow announced that it would subsidise newbuildings with up to 15 % of the investment sum if they were used in the NSR. Prerequisite: shipbuilding contracts for Russian shipyards. The state-owned corporation Rosatom had recently brought in the Arab terminal and logistics group DP World as a © HANSA A completely new route? Most recently, another new initiative went public: With transports from the Caspian Sea to the Baltic Sea, bypassing the Suez Canal, Moscow could revive an old shipping route. The driver of the new project is the head of the Russian shipbuilding company United Shipbuilding Corp (USC), Alexei Rakhmanov. He wants to build river-sea ships that could bring containers from the Caspian Sea in the south of the country via the Volga-Baltic Waterway and the Neva to St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea. He presented the plans for this northsouth corridor at a recent meeting with Russia‘s President Vladimir Putin. The transit time is said to be 7–8 days – significantly shorter than the route via the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. In addition, the route runs exclusively over Russian territory, so it would be »free of foreign influence«. According to Rakhmanov, the construction work for a new type of container ship will begin this year. The country‘s maritime industry should also ultimately benefit from this – and possibly the international industry as a partner, too. This will certainly be discussed at Neva. ED Carsten Most Tel. 040/72003-120 | E-Mail: carsten.most@akzonobel.com 46 HANSA – International Maritime Journal 09 | 2021
SCHIFFSTECHNIK | SHIP TECHNOLOGY HANSA – International Maritime Journal 09 | 2021 47
