The role of the Northern Sea Route in Russian LNG Projects Development

Abstract

Currently, there has been a significant increase in the volume of freight traffic on the Northern Sea Route (NSR). The following advantages of the Northern Sea Route can be mentioned: no piracy in the region, less time taken for cargo transport, ship bunkering with natural gas from onshore or offshore fields. The paper indicates that the requirements for the bunker fuel quality and the amount of pollutant emissions into the atmosphere during shipping in the Arctic zone are very stringent. This work states that one of the most important ways to follow the emission limits is changing the fuel of the ice-rated vessels for liquefied natural gas (LNG). It is noted that Russia has a number of opportunities to apply LNG both to supply the Arctic Region with water and surface transport and to supply the onshore settlements and enterprises. It is noted that the use of gas as fuel will decrease air pollutant emissions. Furthermore, shift to LNG as bunker fuel will resolve a major environmental problem of accidental spillage of marine fuel and crude oil. The article states that LNG is a reliable and competitive fuel for shipping in the Arctic Region. It is indicated that the growth of the Russian domestic LNG market in the form of industrial consumers and ships bunkering can be an incentive for the intensive domestic LNG-projects development.