Alexander Bortnikov
© Sergey Guneev

Bortnikov: We should improve legal infrastructure to protect Russian facilities in the Arctic from terrorism

Alexander Bortnikov, Chairman of the National Antiterrorist Committee and Federal Security Service Director, has called for upgrading the legal infrastructure that regulates antiterrorist protection of Russian facilities in the Arctic, including nuclear icebreakers and offshore drilling platforms, Rossiya Segodnya reported.

"The clear tendency toward an increase in the number of offshore businesses and in shipping along the Northern Sea Route dictates the need to improve the system of measures designed to ensure their antiterrorist protection," he said at the committee's meeting.

In his words, the group of risks includes some particularly hazardous and sophisticated facilities such as nuclear icebreakers, oil tankers and offshore drilling platforms, as well as oil and gas transshipment points at Northern Sea Route ports. He stressed that the organizational and legal infrastructure for protecting offshore business facilities had, on the whole, been formed.

"At the same time, there are shortcomings and untapped potential in the work of the structures responsible for transportation security and antiterrorist protection of the Northern Sea Route's infrastructure and offshore businesses in the Arctic region of the Russian Federation," he added.