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The author traces the evolution of military presence in the Arctic by Russia and NATO in the article. He analyses the impact of military posturing on Arctic geopolitics. The author advocates that while military capabilities are essential for deterrence, unnecessary military rhetoric by NATO and Russia is detrimental to peace and security in the Arctic. Arctic geopolitics is fraught with tensions due to regular highly publicized military exercises and posturing in the area. The new Arctic Cold War is likely to affect Russia more adversely due to Western sanctions post-2014 and the requirement to develop the NSR as an inter-nationally competitive transport corridor. Russia has a legitimate right to protect its security in the Arctic. However, the author argues it is unnecessary to highlight such events regularly, and it may be more useful to focus on the economy and rationalize military spending. Russia needs to focus on its relationship with the Nordic countries and reemphasize its peaceful and cooperative engagement in the Arctic. Its leadership of the Arctic Council is crucial to reducing tensions in the Arctic.

The opening of the Northern Sea route (NSR) due to the melting of the Arctic sea ice ushers in many opportunities. The International Maritime Organization has introduced several regulations for shipping and the training of seafarers. The Northern Sea Route has several challenges with respect to the infra-structure and the harsh weather conditions. The recent incident onboard the Viking Sky cruise liner was a reminder of such challenges. The Norwegian authorities responded admirably, and the Search and Rescue operation was conducted with the necessary coordinated effort in the shortest possible time. Other inci-dents along the NSR and increasing ship casualties in the Arctic region which have been analyzed with ref-erence to the adequacy of existing regulations. The author’s opinion is that these incidents bring out a need to examine the adequacy of the Polar code, infrastructure along the NSR and the current state of Search and Rescue (SAR). From a practical point of view the Norwegian experience would be of interest to all Arctic states and the IMO. The evolution of the Polar Code and the challenges in implementation are discussed. The article puts forth several recommendations for improving cooperation and safety with the aim of making the NSR a viable alternative route. This article can be used for educational purposes at universities. It is relevant for civil servants, shipping authorities, search and rescue authorities and researchers involved in developing the Arctic sea routes and specifically the Northern Sea route.

Despite the growing tension in Russia-West relations, the Arctic region continues to remain a zone of peace and cooperation. The level of interstate collaboration here is extremely high, unlike other maritime regions. The interaction is developing in scientific research, protection of the marine environment and biodiversity, regulation of fisheries, improvement of search and rescue efforts, control of oil spills, and regulation of navigation. However, interstate competition has not disappeared in the Arctic. The countries participating in the maritime activities in the region often have completely different priorities and are firmly defending their national interests. Under sanctions’ pressure, the Russian Federation is forced to seek new partners and allies in the Arctic. This choice is extremely difficult since the coincidence of positions on one issue or another is often minimal. In order to defend its interests, Russia needs to achieve such a format of interaction with the Arctic and non-Arctic countries which would be extremely mutually beneficial and work for the good of our country, but not to its detriment.

Significant increase in global attention to the Arctic, as well as the intensive development of technologies for its study, makes the cooperation between various countries increasingly important. The article discusses the history and current interaction in the Arctic region between Russia (and its predecessor, the USSR) with North-East Asia (NEA) — China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea. The author noted the increasing scientific and practical interest of the NEA countries to study the Arctic, analyzed it and main aspirations of these countries to cooperate with Russia. Also, the author reviewed the most significant internal laws and regulations governing their activities in the Arctic. It was concluded that the high prospects for cooperation between the countries of Northeast Asia and Russia occur. Main directions of possible interaction in the region are presented in the article along with the highlighted unique position of the Russian Far East as one of the critical links.

The article investigates the opportunity of the development of a new transnational transport corridor on the base of the NSR, which is much shorter and faster than the usual one. The basis of this project is Sabetta seaport, which is considered as a potential transnational transport hub. The authors investigated the opportunities for the development of intermodal terminals and new services/goods for the East-West and North-South international transport corridors. They design this idea on the base of multi-modal transportation approach for the development of a global innovation project of NSR Transnational Transport Corridor. Using classical methods of analysis, they conclude that the port of Sabetta, as well as other ports in the Yamal Peninsula currently does not have direct rail access to the Central Russia regions and it can be good potential for regional development in Ural and Siberia. The research was limited by the official statistics about NSR dynamic of cargo volume. The results of research can provide the development of new multimodal transnational transport corridor and can be the basis of regional development in northern Russian regions. The implementation of the idea can provide a significant amount of new jobs and an enormous amount of international investments. Mainly in international scientific literacy authors examine the question of North Transport corridor by logistic and geographical aspects. The article investigates this question in more complex aspect by a multimodal approach with involvement in the NSR another means of communication like a river, railway and motorway transportation.

The article investigates the opportunity of the development of a new transnational transport corridor on the base of the NSR, which is much shorter and faster than the usual one. The basis of this project is Sabetta seaport, which is considered as a potential transnational transport hub. The authors investigated the opportunities for the development of intermodal terminals and new services/goods for the East-West and North-South international transport corridors. They design this idea on the base of multi-modal transportation approach for the development of a global innovation project of NSR Transnational Transport Corridor. Using classical methods of analysis, they conclude that the port of Sabetta, as well as other ports in the Yamal Peninsula currently does not have direct rail access to the Central Russia regions and it can be good potential for regional development in Ural and Siberia. The research was limited by the official statistics about NSR dynamic of cargo volume. The results of research can provide the development of new multimodal transnational transport corridor and can be the basis of regional development in northern Russian regions. The implementation of the idea can provide a significant amount of new jobs and an enormous amount of international investments. Mainly in international scientific literacy authors examine the question of North Transport corridor by logistic and geographical aspects. The article investigates this question in more complex aspect by a multimodal approach with involvement in the NSR another means of communication like a river, railway and motorway transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Arctic Ocean has been greatly affected by climate change. Future predications show an even more drastic reduction of the ice cap which will open new areas for the exploration of natural resources and maritime transportation. Shipping through the Arctic Ocean via the Northern Sea Route (NSR) could save about 40% of the sailing distance from Asia (Yokohama) to Europe (Rotterdam) compared to the traditional route via the Suez Canal. However, a 40% reduction in distance using the NSR does not mean a corresponding 40% in cost savings due to many factors, including: higher building costs for ice-classed ships, non-regularity and slower speeds, navigation difficulties and greater risks, as well as the need for extra ice breaker service. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the economic potential of using the NSR as an alternative route between Asia and Europe by taking all the main factors into consideration. It focuses on economic aspect of the NSR, therefore navigation/ environmental/cultural/legal issues are not discussed. The economic study is conducted by a case study in which 4300 TEU container ships (both non-ice classed and ice classed) are employed to make year round service. The annual profit gained from regular service by a non-ice-classed ship via the Suez Canal for the entire year is compared to the annual profit gained from an ice-classed ship taking the NSR during the navigable months and Suez Canal for the rest of the year. There are three factors that influence the NSR the most: the navigable time of the NSR, Russian NSR fees and bunker prices. To make this study flexible, three scenarios for navigable time, three scenarios for Russian NSR fees as well as three scenarios for bunker prices are proposed. These assumptions are all combined with each other and the profit under each condition is then calculated. The overall comparison is made in order to see under which conditions the NSR is competitive with the Suez Canal. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]