Amid the Suez Canal crisis in Egypt, Russia has grabbed on to the opportunity to promote its northern shipping route through the Arctic as an alternative. As a part of its plan to capitalise on climate change, Russia has been investing in its Arctic territory, pushing to develop it for mineral extraction and military infrastructure. 

Seizing the opportunity following the blockage of the canal, Russia has doubled its efforts to promote the northern route. This route allows ships to cut down the journey time to Asian ports by 15 days in comparison with Suez Canal. 

Also Read: Operations underway to free the Ever Given ship in Suez Canal, Egypt

Moscow has spent a large amount of money on ice-class tankers and icebreakers which is closely linked to the development of the Northern Sea Route, reported AFP. 

The Northern Sea Route is one of several Arctic shipping channels and lies within Russia’s exclusive economic zone.

Panama-flagged MV Ever Given container ship got diagonally wedged in the Suez Canal after gusts of strong wind threw it off course. The waterway connects the Mediterranean with the Red Sea and gives passage to more than 10% of the maritime trade globally.  

Also Read: How much will the Suez Canal ‘traffic jam’ cost?

Four days later, tugboats and dredgers are still trying to free the giant ship forcing companies to re-route services from the vital shipping lane around Africa.

Moscow’s point person for international Arctic cooperation, Nikolai Korchunov said Friday, “The appeal of the Northern Sea Route will grow both in the short- and long-term. It has no alternative. Obviously, it’s necessary to think about how to efficiently manage transportation risks and develop alternative routes to the Suez Canal, first and foremost the Northern Sea Route.”

This week, Russia’s weather monitor said that the northern route was “in some years almost completely free of ice” towards the end of the summer and in 2020 reached a “record low level” of ice cover. Moscow hopes that climate change will enable it to commercially benefit from the route. 

Novatek, Russia’s biggest LNG producer is already navigating the northern route, and the country plans to use this route to export gas and oil to markets overseas. 

Nuclear agency Rosatom jokingly said the Arctic passage provides “more space to draw peculiar pictures using your giant ships,” referring to shipping trackers which showed that the Ever Given traced the outline of a giant penis before getting stuck. 

Arctic expert Mikaa Mered tweeted on March 25, “Is this surprising? No.” referring to Russia using the Suez Canal crisis as an opportunity to promote the northern route.

Russia’s nuclear agency, which is the Arctic passage’s official infrastructure operator, mockingly offered its northern route as an alternative Thursday, saying icebreakers would be sent to the rescue if vessels get stuck.