The prospects for new transport – and, above all, sea – corridors directly depend on the scientific and technological potential and capabilities of the country's industrial complex. A reference example is the Northern Sea Route, the volume of traffic on which has increased by an order of magnitude over the decade. At one of the venues of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum – 2023, the development of logical and ship repair potential was discussed. The session was attended by the Deputy Governor of the Murmansk region Olga Kuznetsova.
"The Murmansk Region has a high transport potential, primarily associated with the year-round ice-free deep-water port of Murmansk. The port of Murmansk is the absolute leader in cargo turnover among the ports located along the route of the Northern Sea Route. The region has all the infrastructure and investors interested in creating transport hubs for the NSR," the Vice-governor stressed.
In addition, the Murmansk Region has a unique set of state support measures for such projects, which allows to reduce the burden on investors – these are the regimes of the Russian Arctic and the TOP "Capital of the Arctic". As a result, today the volume of investments in logistics and transport projects of the Murmansk region is more than 400 billion rubles in the next 10 years. Most of them are aimed at the development of the Northern Sea Route.
"There are difficulties in the field of ship repair. Most of our shipowners are serviced in other regions and countries, which, of course, affects the loss of fishing time and the cost of services. There are many new vessels, so the problem of maintenance and repair deserves careful attention. Taking into account the existing tasks for the development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Murmansk Region, together with JSC "GTLK", has started work aimed at creating a cluster–type ship repair enterprise on the territory of the Murmansk Region, taking into account the needs of shipping and fishing companies in the region and participants of the Northern Sea Route," Olga Kuznetsova explained.
The aim of the project is to provide the owners of the civil fleet with high-quality and competitive full-cycle ship repair services.
"We have completed a marketing study of the ship repair market in the Murmansk region, studied potential sites and formed a preliminary financial model of the project. The ship repair complex will be able to service civilian vessels that make up more than 80% of the fleet assigned to the port of Murmansk. The design of the facility will begin this year and will be completed in 2024, after which the construction phase will begin," said Evgeny Dietrich, General Director of JSC GTLK.
/ Ministry of Information Policy of the Murmansk Region /