Norway: Kirkenes could soon become the 1st European port

Audio 03:12

By: Frédéric Faux

It's a small town you may never have heard of. It is Kirkenes, in the north of Norway, on the border of Russia. Kirkenes has long been a part of the world, but melting ice in the Arctic may soon change its fate. A new sea route between Asia and Europe is opening up to the north of Russia. A shorter, more economical route, including the first European port, for container ships coming from China or Japan… would then be Kirkenes.

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from our correspondent in Olso,

The Kirkenes Conference is currently taking place in this small Norwegian town, where the most important players in the Arctic region meet, on both the Russian and European sides. Kirkenes is a town of 10,000 inhabitants, a shopping center frequented by Russians who live on the other side of the border, and its main activity is these trawlers, still Russians, who fish cod in the sea of Barents and come to break here.

On the verge of ice

A view of the town of Kirkenes in northern Norway on June 10, 2013. Harvey Barrison / wikimedia.org

Commercial shipping is developing on the north coast of Russia due to climate change. Kirkenes is in this context extremely well placed because its port is at the limit of ice in winter. It thus becomes the first European port when one arrives from Asia. But this port does not yet exist. And it would be enough to build 500 kilometers of railway to Finland to connect it to the rest of Europe. That's why all those who smell the good vein go to Kirkenes. The problem is that for the moment no one is volunteering to make these huge investments.

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Boat traffic on this northern shipping route is growing

It began to develop in 2017 with the entry into service of gas and oil fields in northern Russia. New ships specially designed for the Arctic now allow these oils to be transported almost all year round to Europe. But for the transport of goods between Asia and Europe, we are still in the infancy. Last year, only 37 boats completed this full transit. It would however save 40% of time, and including as much savings, compared to boats passing through the Suez Canal.

Why do so few boats go north?

Container shipping requires long-term, stable plans, and is hardly compatible with a shipping route that must close during winter and spring. On the other hand the navigation conditions remain risky.

Moscow has announced a plan to equip these 6,000 km of coastline with rescue stations and ports for shelter, but this plan has yet to be implemented. What will be decisive is the number of icebreakers that will work on this route. Russia will put into service in 2027 twice as powerful models, capable of breaking any thickness of ice. It is with them that the northern sea route could really open up.

Kirkenes (Norway): Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov and the governor of the Russian region of Murmansk attend a football tournament opposing Russian, Norwegian and Finnish teams, October 2019. Alexander Shcherbak \ TASS via Getty

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