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Icebreakers in the Arctic: Highly sensitive ecosystem
Photo: Richard Tegnér/ dpa
Instead of the Baltic Sea, Russia wants to make greater use of its Arctic waters for oil exports in the future. "Currently, we are working with Russian companies to divert Russian oil away from the Baltic Sea ports to the Northeast Passage as the safest and most attractive route," said the head of the national nuclear agency Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, on Wednesday at a government meeting chaired by President Vladimir Putin. The route along the northern coast of Russia is to be made navigable all year round with the help of nuclear icebreakers. Putin described the expansion of the Northeast Passage as a strategic project.
"The development of the Northern Sea Route is undoubtedly one of the obvious strategic priorities. We should not save money here and cut anything because of the economy," said the Kremlin chief. In Moscow, the Northeast Passage is called the Northern Sea Route. He hopes that the project will be fully implemented, Putin said. The reorientation of oil supplies out of European ports is intended to make Russia more resilient to Western sanctions that followed Moscow's war of aggression against Ukraine.
The Northeast Passage has only become interesting for shipping traffic as a result of climate change and the thawing of the ice mass in the Arctic. According to environmentalists, commercial shipping – especially with oil tankers – also carries the risk of major natural disasters that can cause lasting damage to the sensitive ecosystem of the Arctic.
mik/dpa-AFX