25th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum discussed the future of the arctic region. Russian State Atomic Energy Agency Rosatom, who took part in the sessions of the panel, participated in studies on the future of the region with distinguished experts and panelists.
Speaking at the seminar on “Shipbuilding and repairs in the Arctic”, Rosatom Deputy Director General and Director of Northern Sea Route (NSR) Vyacheslav Ruksha announced that by 2030, at least 44 ships will be built for an Arctic ice class cargo fleet. Vyacheslav Ruksha stated that all of these ships should be ships not lower than Arc5 ice class.
Maxim Kulinko, Deputy Director of Rosatom Northern Sea Route Directorate, also said that Rosatom is working on the creation of the NSR digital ecosystem. Speaking at the Arctic telecommunications development and digitization conference, Kulinko provided new information on improving the accuracy of the said digital ecosystem, the Northern Sea Route Digital Services Unified Platform (UPDS NSR) and the assessment of the emerging ice, meteorological and navigational situation in the water area of the NSR. He stated that it will consist of the core system that includes its resources.
UPDS NSR will enable the creation of a unified digital space that will allow to provide various services in single window mode to shipping companies, ship owners and captains, insurers and other stakeholders of the logistics market in NSR. In this way, solutions will be offered especially for documenting, monitoring, shipping and fleet operation of ships' transit permits. The system in question will enable the collection of all kinds of information from all available sources such as hydro-meteorological data, the location of ships and icebreakers, the used capacity of ports, on a single digital platform. Users will have received an "ice navigator" that enables highly accurate mapping of the route in the NSR's changing ice conditions.
Speaking at the session titled “Investment Projects in the Arctic: Preferential Regimes” within the scope of SPIEF-2022, Rosatom's Special Representative for Arctic Affairs Vladimir Panov said: Its total investment in its development will exceed 2030 billion rubles, and approximately 700 workplaces will be created.”
A third of these funds will be spent on the renewal of the icebreaker fleet. Rosatom, which will initiate the international transit project, will build the port infrastructure and equip the NSR route with the necessary convenience facilities.
Russia's first small land-based nuclear power plant will be commissioned in 2028. The plant in question will provide at least 55 MW of environmentally friendly energy for the development of the Kyuchus field and nearby settlements in the north of the Verkhoyansk region of Yakutia. Each ruble invested in the construction of a small-sized nuclear power plant in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) brings the Russian economy an average of 2,6 rubles at the construction stage and 2,4 rubles at the operational stage.
In another session, “Climate Change Trends and Risk Management in the North Pole”, the prominent topic was environmental safety standards. The joint project of the Russian State Atomic Energy Agency Rosatom and the Lomonosov Moscow State University Marine Research Center brought together more than 15 experts from 60 leading Russian and foreign research and development institutes, associations, joint companies and public institutions on the protection of the environment and biodiversity. brought. After 9 months of work on the project, an integrated environmental monitoring program was developed that aims to ensure the environmental safety of the NSR as a single infrastructure facility. The program builds on research data from previous long-term studies of Arctic ecosystems, both from field research and satellite monitoring data on shiploads and pollutions along the entire length of the NSR water area, and pilot environmental monitoring data conducted in 2021. The program also includes the recommendations of the international group of experts.
Nikolai Shabalin, Executive Director of the Marine Research Center at Lomonosov Moscow State University, said: “The program covers the main recommendations for the selection of environmental monitoring facilities and parameters, research methods and business implementation plans. The program will ensure responsible environmental management and stable development of the Northern Sea Route. We have already received support from many Russian and international R&D organizations, which indicates that the program enjoys a high rating among representatives of the Russian and foreign expert community.
Be the first to comment