On board the icebreaker "50 years of Victory" (Russia) (AFP)

Seen from Moscow, the Arctic is less a fragile space to be protected from global warming, than an overflowing reserve of raw materials and commercial opportunities.

And to ensure its supremacy there, Russia is sailing a fleet of nuclear icebreakers there.

"A third of our territory is located beyond the Arctic Circle", notes Dmitri Loboussov, the captain of the ship "50 let Pobedy" (50 years of the Victory).

"Consequently, our ancestors already mastered navigation in frozen waters. And we continue, with success," continues the officer in charge of the icebreaker, noting the growing importance of his mission with "the development of natural resources".

Because the Russia of Vladimir Putin has made the exploitation of Arctic wealth - oil, gas and minerals - a strategic priority.

The region is thus the bridgehead for Russian exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) produced on the Yamal peninsula by the Russian Novatek and the French Total.

The Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker "50 let Pobedy" (50 years of Victory) in Murmansk, before leaving for the North Pole, August 14, 2021 Ekaterina ANISIMOVA AFP / Archives

"The Arctic zone has enormous potential. In terms of resources, we are talking about 15 billion tonnes of oil and one hundred trillion m3 of gas. Enough for tens or even hundreds of years", underlined in September the deputy. Prime Minister, Alexandre Novak.

- Compete with Suez -

On the other hand, their profitability will depend in part on the northern sea route, or the Northeast Passage.

This Arctic route, half the length of that of the Suez Canal, should simplify the delivery of hydrocarbons to South-East Asia by connecting the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans.

Formerly navigable only in summer, it is becoming more and more practicable with the retreat of the pack ice due to global warming.

The Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker "50 let Pobedy" (50 years of Victory) at the North Pole, August 18, 2021 Ekaterina ANISIMOVA AFP / Archives

But the deployment of Russian nuclear-powered icebreakers is also essential.

This fleet, under the leadership of the atomic energy giant Rosatom, is unique in the world because "only Russia has such a route - the Northern Sea Route - where these icebreakers are in demand", notes Sergei Kondratiev, expert with the independent think tank Institute for Energy and Finance.

When in March 2021 the Suez Canal was blocked for several days because of a failed container ship, Moscow took the opportunity to hammer home that its Arctic route is no longer a distant dream, but a growing reality.

Rosatom must therefore increase the number of its nuclear icebreakers from five to nine over the next five years.

The objective: to achieve an Arctic traffic of 80 million tonnes of goods per year by 2024 and 160 million in 2035, against some 33 million in 2020.

The Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker "50 let Pobedy" (50 years of Victory) in Murmansk, August 24, 2021 Ekaterina ANISIMOVA AFP / Archives

If, however, we remain far from the billion tonnes passing through Suez each year, Sergei Kondratiev notes that the heavyweights of the Russian economy like Gazpromneft, Norilsk Nickel or Rosneft all need the Arctic and therefore "will all need the services. of a fleet of icebreakers ".

Rosneft, for example, is developing a colossal oil project called Vostok Oil on the Taimyr Peninsula, with huge profits.

- "One more minute" -

Already, "if in the years 80-90 we accompanied a ship then we stopped waiting for the next, now we do not stop for a single minute," says Captain Loboussov.

Year-round Arctic shipping is scheduled for 2030. And not just for the Russians.

Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker "Ural" in St. Petersburg, May 25, 2019 OLGA MALTSEVA AFP / Archives

Rosatom notes that the Danish shipowner Maersk and the Chinese Cosco are already taking the northern route.

President Putin has "welcomed the interest" of foreign actors in this seaway and assured Friday that he "does not want to exclude anyone".

The Russian nuclear group estimates the cost of developing this trade route at 735 billion rubles (8.5 billion euros at the current rate) until 2024, including 274 billion injected by the state.

Environmental associations denounce this race for hydrocarbons, at the origin of several ecological disasters, and the increased presence of atomic reactors floating in the Arctic.

"Of course, development projects in such a fragile ecosystem involve risks and infrastructure must help mitigate them," Rosatom recognizes, stressing that nuclear propulsion is cleaner than conventional fuels.

A crew member inspects the bowels of the Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker "Arktika" in St. Petersburg, September 22, 2020 OLGA MALTSEVA AFP / Archive

"However, with economic opportunities as important for the local populations as for the world economy, it will be difficult not to take advantage of these reserves", assumes the group.

© 2021 AFP