Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has signed a directive that extends the plan for Northern Sea Route development to 2035.

“We are talking about the creation of Russian-made equipment that is crucial for building an ice breaker fleet, ice-breaker cargo ships and emergency and rescue vessels,” the Government press service says.

The plan includes measures to develop and produce this type of equipment. The responsible parties will be the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Rosatom state corporation, the Ministry of Transport and the Emergencies Ministry.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Finance Ministry were charged with developing proposals regarding the volume and sources of funding for a program to create competitive Russian-made marine equipment.

The Northern Sea Route development plan until 2035 was approved by the Government in August 2022. The document stipulates the construction of icebreakers, including the lead icebreaker in the Lider (Leader) project, as well as the building of a 46-vessel emergency and rescue fleet. The plan includes over 150 measures with total funding of almost 1.8 trillion rubles.

The Northern Sea Route is the shortest water route between the European part of Russia and the Far East. The route is located completely within Russian waters and exclusive economic zone, which is especially important given the external sanctions pressure.