MOSCOW, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- The cargo volume of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) reached approximately 37.9 million tonnes in 2024, with a projected growth of around 20 percent in 2025, Alexei Likhachev, director general of Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, said Tuesday.
"The NSR has witnessed increasing activity, with the number of ship voyages up by 20 percent this year," Likhachev said. "It is actively used not only by participants in our Arctic projects, but also by those involved in northern supply missions, international logistics and transit operations."
Vladimir Panov, Rosatom's special representative for Arctic development, said the NSR is rapidly evolving into an efficient global logistics corridor.
"A range of factors are driving this growth, including the development of advanced technologies, the construction of next-generation nuclear-powered icebreakers, and growing interest from foreign shippers," Panov said.
On Monday, the first vessel operating on the China-Europe Arctic container express route arrived in Europe via the Arctic's Northeast Passage. The journey took only 20 days, much shorter than traditional southern sea routes, demonstrating the NSR's significant time advantage.
Rosatom described the "historic voyage" as a milestone in developing the NSR into a sustainable logistics corridor between China and Europe, one that will play a vital role in supporting the stability of global trade.
Stretching about 5,600 km through the Arctic Ocean along northern Russia, the NSR is the shortest maritime route linking western Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region. ■