Prospects for the use of Arctic routes in the context of climate change and the implementation of the concept of sustainable development of the Arctic zone

Abstract

The urgent need to solve environmental problems and meet the needs of people requires finding alternative ways to deliver goods in the most environmentally friendly and safe way. In addition, the climatic changes occurring on our planet open up additional prospects for the use of the Arctic for economic purposes, in particular, the use of the Northern Sea Route for cargo transportation. In the modern world economy, sea cargo transportation accounts for about 80% of all cargo transportation. The main cargo flow is carried out through the Southern Sea Route (SSR), along which goods are transported from Europe to Asia. For quite a long period of time, shipowners and logistics companies did not perceive the Arctic region as an alternative to traffic from Asia to Europe or North America, while navigation in the Arctic was much more than just transport shipping. At the same time, the situation has changed significantly in the 21stcentury. The interest in this region among the states of the Arctic zone, as well as other countries, is connected not only with the presence there of large reserves of mineral resources, solving geopolitical problems, but also the search for alternative sea routes for cargo transportation between Europe, North America and Asia. In connection with the blockade of the Suez Canal in March 2021, the question of the need to redirect cargo transportation to alternative routes – the Northern Sea Route (NSR), as part of the Northeast Passage, and the Northwest Passage became acute. The Suez Canal is the busiest and longest sea artery. In addition, this area is unsafe due to frequent attacks by pirates. Due to the geographical features of the SSR the presence of sufficiently narrow places along the route - under the condition of increasing traffic, does not contribute to the free passage of ships. Meanwhile, the active melting of the Arctic ice in the foreseeable future will allow navigation along Arctic routes at higher latitudes and without the escort of icebreaker transport. All of the above allows us to consider navigation in the Arctic latitudes as an actual alternative to the Southern Route, which will serve as the beginning of sustainable development of the Arctic region.