The Murmansk Region claims to be the production and testing base of the Federal Maritime Center of Russia. Governor Andrey Chibis made a corresponding proposal at a meeting of the Maritime Board chaired by Assistant to President Nikolai Patrushev, First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov and stressed the need to locate an Arctic Basin branch in the Arctic.
It should be recalled that the project of the federal Maritime Center, implemented on behalf of the President of the Russian Federation, is designed to provide a full cycle — from education and science to testing and introduction into production. This is necessary for the development of domestic marine technologies, transport routes and the strengthening of Russia's transport sovereignty.
"The maritime agenda for the region is one of the key ones, and we are already conducting practical work in this direction. The Murmansk Region is developing marine robotics, unmanned boats and is preparing to create a multi-medium research and production center. This is in demand both in logistics, and in the delivery of goods to remote territories, and in security tasks," said Andrey Chibis.
From theory to practice. In September 2026, the world's first unmanned sea crossing with cargo on board, completed beyond the Arctic Circle, was successfully completed in the region. The unmanned boat "Heroes of the Fog", created by the Murmansk company NPK Progress, a resident of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, traveled about 300 km from Teriberka to Ostrovnaya. He delivered medicines, parcels from marketplaces and other goods to the residents of a remote settlement.
"The development of Arctic transportation and the changing composition of the fleet require a well-developed system of docking, repair, modernization and maintenance of icebreaking, cargo, fishing and support fleets. Therefore, we see Murmansk as the second site, the production and testing ground of the Russian Maritime Center, where St. Petersburg is science, education and technology development, and Murmansk is production, testing and operation in real Arctic conditions," the governor noted.
Andrey Chibis's initiative was supported by the Maritime Board. The Murmansk Region is Russia's strategic outpost in the Arctic, providing access to the World Ocean and being a key hub of the Northern Sea Route. Murmansk is the main port of the Transarctic Transport Corridor and the nuclear icebreaking fleet, the leader of the Russian Arctic in cargo turnover. This solution will make it possible to synchronize the development of the port infrastructure with the tasks of technological sovereignty of the Arctic and the whole country.
In the Murmansk Region, within the framework of the national program "Live in the North!" and the comprehensive project for the development of the Arctic and the TTC, work is already underway to create five clusters - five new growth points for the region's economy, one of them is marine equipment and technologies. To provide personnel and scientific support for these tasks in the field, a world-class campus is planned for the training of specialists in Arctic specialties, and an engineering center for mechanical engineering in the field of marine equipment is being created on the basis of Murmansk Arctic University.
/Ministry of Information Policy of the Murmansk Region/