OREANDA-NEWS. August 31, 2010.  The optimal price for Atomflot Federal State Unitary Enterpris (FSUE) services, related to the Northern Sea Route (Sevmorput) pilotage, shall be only a bit higher than the price for the Suez Canal passage.

According to a reporter of PortNews RIA from Pevek port, Chukotka this information was announced to journalists by General Director of Atomflot FSUE Vyacheslav Ruksha. “If price for our services is only a bit higher than the price for Suez Canal pilotage, then cargo owners will use the Northern Route with great relish”, Ruksha stressed. According to him, during the summer period some Atomflot vessels are vacant, that is why the more passages the Northern Sea Route will have ,the lower the price for icebreaker assistance will be. Ruksha noted that the icebreaker called “50 Let Pobedy” for example could pilot through the Northern Sea Route more than one tanker at one time.

As it was noted by General Director of Sovkomflot OJSC Sergey Frank, who participated in Pevek briefing, the passage of a vessel through the Northern Sea Route saved about 45% of time in comparison with passage through the alternative route in Suez Canal. According to Board Chairman of NOVATEK OJSC Leonid Mikhelson, the total cost for cargo transportation from the White Sea to the countries of the Asia-Pacific Region (APR) through the Southern route in Suez Canal is about 50 USD per cargo ton. He stated to journalists that by means of the Northern Sea Route waterway track in 2011 NOVATEK planned to achieve economy in transportation equal to 10–15%”. Sergey Frank added that in 2011 Sovkomflot planned to use a tanker of a Suezmax or Panamax type for work in the Northern Sea Route.

As it was previously reported by PortNews RIA a Suezmax type vessel would have an ice reinforcement not less than 1A Super, which would help the tanker to overcome ice floe compactions equal up to 10 grades with ice thickness of about 1 meter.

I would like to remind that today the first tanker of Sovkomflot OJSC called Baltika with 70 thousand tones of gas condensate on-board (cargo owner – Novatek OJSC) has come to Pevek port (Chukotka) from Murmansk port. The vessel is travelling to Ningbo port (China) ahead of schedule, which speaks for high potential of goods transit through the tracks of the Northern Sea Route.