Likhachev announced revision of the schedule for growth of cargo flow along the Northern Sea Route

The schedule for growth of cargo traffic along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) needs to be revised based on the realities in RUSSIA, the HEAD of the state corporation Rosatom, Alexey Likhachev, told journalists on the sidelines of the Russian-Vietnamese dialogue.

He was asked how new US sanctions against Russia's energy sector would affect the volume of transportation along the NSR.

“Of course, some parameters in terms of production, and therefore the transportation of EXPORT cargo, will be achieved in a slightly longer time frame,” Likhachev responded and added that “there is nothing to it.”

As the head of Rosatom noted, President Vladimir Putin admitted that the achievement of a number of parameters would have to be “shifted slightly to the right,” this is a “forced measure.”

“We now need to review, taking into account all the decisions made in the company, here, in fact, is the schedule for growth in trade turnover, cargo flow along the Northern Sea Route, based on the realities in which we work,” Likhachev added.

The head of the state corporation also noted that, in his opinion, Arctic projects are adapting to the restrictions imposed by the American authorities . In addition, he spoke about plans to hold a meeting with Putin on the development of the NSR. Most likely, it will take place in the first quarter of 2025.

On January 10, the United States announced the most significant sanctions against Russia's energy sector. The restrictions affected oil companies such as Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz, as well as more than two dozen of their subsidiaries, tankers, and insurers. Likhachev himself and his deputies were also included in the sanctions list.

In September, Rosatom presented two scenarios for the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) until 2040 - both assumed lower cargo flow compared to the plan for the development of the transport route approved by the government in August 2022. Mikhail Grigoriev, head of the consulting company Gekon, noted that the plan already needed to be adjusted at the time of its approval, since it was based on estimates and plans of shippers prepared before the start of the military operation in Ukraine and Western sanctions.

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