Moscow to Rule Northern Sea Route

Deputy Minister of Transport Victor Olerskyz informed that the Northern Sea Route will be administrated from Moscow.

The new headquarters for the Northern Sea Route (NSR) will open in Moscow on January 28 2013. A representative office may be opened in Arkhangelsk later, according to the 'Barents Observer'.

The Northern Sea Route is becoming a more and more important route for transportation of cargo between Europe and Asia. 2012 was a record season both in relation to the amount of cargo and the number of vessels. 46 vessels sailed the route in 2012, compared to 34 in 2011 and only four in 2010. The total cargo transported on the NSR last year was 1 261 545 tons – a 53 percent increase from 2011, when 820 789 tons was shipped on the route.

Moscow was chosen as host town for the NSR administration office so that no other region might feel offended, as Murmansk and Arkhangelsk have for years been hoping that the office would be located there, reports 'RiaNovosti'.

Another reason to choose Moscow before any Arctic town is that there is where the Ministry of Emergency Situations, emergency rescue services and the Agency for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring are located.

Sources: Barents Observer/Ria Novosti