ABSTRACT
Traffic on the Northern Sea Route along Russia’s Siberian coast has increased since 2010. But international transits between the Pacific and the Atlantic have not taken off as anticipated. Instead, the transportation of energy and mineral resources – mainly liquefied natural gas – from fields in Russia’s Arctic has come to dominate the sea route. Russian protectionist measures have limited the role of international shipping companies, but alliances between Russian and foreign companies are expected to become important. Russia aims to build infrastructure facilitating year-round usage of the route, but international freight and commodities markets are likely to be decisive for the future volume of shipping.
