Northern Sea Route cargo traffic increases by 42.6 percent in 2017
© RIA Novosti. Evgeniy Epanchintsev

Northern Sea Route cargo traffic increases by 42.6 percent in 2017

The Northern Sea Route moved 10.7 million metric tons of cargo in 2017, Interfax reports citing the data of the Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport. This is a 42.6-percent increase compared to 2016 when the North Sea Route's cargo traffic amounted to 7.5 million metric tons.

According to the Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport, in 2017 the Northern Sea Route saw sea vessels transport 9.7 million metric tons of various cargoes on its waters, while river vessels carried 797,200 metric tons of cargo. Interfax reports that transit vessels transported 194,400 metric tons.

Based on the agency's expert analysis, the cargo traffic along the Northern Sea Route will reach 44 million metric tons by 2020 and 70 million metric tons by 2030. It is expected that mainly energy resources, including LNG, oil, coal, and metals, will be transported.