The Rosatom state corporation may soon be chosen as the operator of the Northern Sea Route, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said during the 7^th Arctic: Today and the Future International Forum in St. Petersburg.

"The government has issued a proposal to the president to make Rosatom the operator. It will require a very serious internal restructuring and the creation of a new division. I think it will be done soon," Rogozin said.

At the moment, about 40 organizations and agencies are engaged in operating the Northern Sea Route, so the government needs to pick one operator that will have all the necessary functions. Three options were discussed. The first was to give the authority to an existing agency, but the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Energy currently have some of the powers to operate the route. "It was clear that one agency would not be able to cope," Rogozin said.

The second option was to create a separate agency, but, in Rogozin's opinion, "it would have resulted in growing bureaucracy and a loss of time, and one agency would try to take the powers of the existing federal agencies." The third option was to create a new corporation, but that would take about five years.

"As a result, we agreed that we need to pick an existing and successful organization which already is charged with most issues related to the Arctic," Rogozin explained.

Rosatom is currently involved in the construction of nuclear-powered icebreakers, alternative energy sources and security in the Arctic together with the Defense Ministry.

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