During a joint session, the research, expert and business councils of the State Commission for Arctic Development discussed establishing a unified transportation and logistics operator for the Northern Sea Route. They decided to set up a working group to analyze the ideas of the expert community and draft practical proposals for the state commission.

Sovfracht Chairman of the Board Dmitry Purim said that currently the scale of annual shipments via the Northern Sea Route is approximately 800,000 metric tons, but it is planned to increase this figure to three or four million metric tons by 2030.

Purim described several forms a unified transportation and logistics operator could take. Thus, the Marine Directorate established during the Olympics now deals with tariff classification, schedules for the movement of vessels and security. An operator may be chosen by tender. It is also possible to set up a consortium from the key players, including representatives of the Defense Ministry and the transportation industry.

Experts pointed out that the main task of the Northern Sea Route operator will be to provide a common pattern for the delivery of cargoes; multiple options for their loading, unloading, shipments and storage; and common tariffs.