The program of the Arctic socioeconomic development includes construction of an environmental protection fleet after 2021, said Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergei Donskoi at the Government's Marine Board meeting.

The project will cost 3.1 billion rubles, TASS reports.

"On the ministry's initiative, the project to build a nature protection fleet for the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources starting from 2021 to provide environmental inspection in the sea and on the continental shelf, with a total cost of 3.1 billion rubles, was included in the state program of the Arctic socioeconomic development," Donskoi said.

According to the minister, the fleet will upgrade the safety level of sea activities and minimize substantially any possible environmental risks to the sea ecosystems.

The minister said that another way of minimizing environmental risks was to start using vessels fueled by liquefied natural gas (LNG), or Green Shipping. He proposed starting with the Northern Sea Route.

"The construction of icebreakers fueled by LNG has already begun. The first ship, Polyaris, was built at the United Shipbuilding Corporation Arctech in Finland. In its turn, the Ministry of Natural Resources participates in building three LNG-powered river tankers for Volgotrans as part of the implementation of the Arctic Council's projects," TASS quotes Donskoi as saying.

The Ministry of Natural Resources has also initiated a project to build ships plus prepare GShipping environmentally safe sea routes.