India and the Northern Sea Route

Subject :Geography

Section: Places in news

Context:

Murmansk, popularly called the capital of the Arctic region and the beginning point of the Northern Sea Route (NSR), is witnessing the rising trend of Indian involvement in cargo traffic.
In the first seven months of 2023, India got the lion’s share with 35% of eight million tonnes of cargo handled by the Murmansk port, which is about 2,000 km northwest of Moscow.

Why is the Arctic region significant to India ?

Arctic region: above the Arctic Circle and includes the Arctic Ocean with the North Pole at its centre.
The region constitutes the largest unexplored prospective area for hydrocarbons remaining on the earth.
It is estimated that the region may hold over 40 percent of the current global reserves of oil and gas.
There may also be significant reserves of coal, zinc and silver.
The Indian government’s Arctic Policy of 2022 mentions that the country’s approach to economic development of the region is guided by UN Sustainable Development Goals.

How old is India’s engagement with the Arctic?

India’s engagement with the Arctic can be traced to the signing of the Svalbard Treaty in February 1920 in Paris.
India’s engagement in the Arctic encompasses atmospheric, biological, marine, hydrological and glaciological studies.
India has set up a research station Himadri at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, in 2008.
In May 2013, India became an observer-state of the Arctic Council along with five others including China.
India launched its inaugural multi-sensor moored observatory and northernmost atmospheric laboratory in 2014 and 2016 respectively.
Till last year, thirteen expeditions to the Arctic were successfully conducted.

What is NSR?

The Northern Sea Route (NSR), the shortest shipping route for freight transportation between Europe and countries of the Asia-Pacific region, straddles four seas of the Arctic Ocean.
Running to 5,600 km, the Route begins at the boundary between the Barents and the Kara seas (Kara Strait) and ends in the Bering Strait (Provideniya Bay).
The distance savings along the NSR can be as high as 50% compared to the currently used shipping lanes via Suez or Panama.

How is Russia making the NSR navigable ?

As the seas of the Arctic Ocean remain icebound during most of the year, the icebreaking assistance is organized to ensure safe navigation along the NSR.
Russia is the only country in the world with a nuclear-powered icebreaker fleet.
In December 1959, the world’s first nuclear icebreaker, “Lenin,” was put into operation.
It was decommissioned 30 years later.
Today, FSUE Atomflot, a subsidiary of Rosatom, acts as the fleet operator of nuclear-powered icebreakers.

What are the driving factors for India to participate in the NSR development ?

The growth in cargo traffic along the NSR is on the constant rise and during 2018-2022, the growth rate was around 73%.
The NSR, as a transit route, assumes importance, given India’s geographical position and the major share of its trade associated with sea transportation.
The Chennai-Vladivostok Maritime Corridor (CVMC) project, an outcome of the signing of the memorandum of intent between the two countries in September 2019.
- The 10,500 km-long CVMC, passing through the Sea of Japan, the South China Sea and Malacca Strait, will bring down transport time to 12 days, almost a third of what is taken under the existing St. Petersburg-Mumbai route of 16,000 km.
- A study commissioned by Chennai Port Trust reveals that coking coal [used by steel companies], crude oil, Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and fertilisers are some of the cargo that can be imported from Russia to India through CVMC.
Experts are discussing the possibility of China and Russia gaining collective influence over the NSR.