India accounts for 35% of cargo handled by Murmansk this year

Subject : Geography

Section: Economic geography

Context:

India’s engagement with Russia’s Arctic region has been strengthening with India-bound goods constituting the maximum share of cargo handled this year by Murmansk, located about 2,000 km northwest of Moscow.

Northern Sea Route (NSR):

The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is a shipping route about 5,600 kilometres (3,500 mi) long, defined by Russian legislation as running from the entrances to the Novaya Zemlya straits in the west, (along the Russian Arctic coast above Siberia through the Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea, and Chukchi Sea), to Cape Zhelaniya on the Bering Strait, at parallel 66 °N and meridian of 168 ° 58′37 ″ W.
India was also getting involved in the Northern Sea Route (NSR), which is the shortest shipping route connecting the western part of Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region.
But there are challenges in navigating the 5,600-km-long NSR. The route includes the seas of the Arctic Ocean [Kara, Laptev, East Siberian and Chukchi] which remain icebound during most parts of the year.
India and Russia are considering a sea-corridor proposal to link Chennai and Vladivostok.

Murmansk port:

Murmansk Commercial Seaport is a seaport located on the eastern shore of the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea in the city of Murmansk, Russia.
Murmansk port, the main northern gateway of Russia and a transshipment hub.
The port ranks fourth in Russia in terms of processed goods and is the second-largest port in northwest Russia (after the port of St. Petersburg).
Murmansk seaport is one of the largest ice-free ports in Russia and forms the backbone of the economy of the city.
The port is managed and operated by JSC Murmansk Commercial Port.
Significance of the port:
- The route from Murmansk to Yokohama in Japan across the Arctic Ocean, including the NSR, is about 6,000 nautical miles (NM). Alternatively, the distance via the traditional shipping routes is about 13,000 NM.