On Monday, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre will travel to China to hold political talks. Among those he will meet are President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang. Støre receives an open letter from Bellona. There, the environmental foundation asks that the Norwegian prime minister urges the Chinese authorities to put aside the plans for large-scale shipping through the Northeast Passage – which the Soviet Union in its time renamed “The Northern Sea Route”. Part of the freight in the Northeast Passage is carried out by tugs and barges. Bellona wants the least possible ship traffic in this area. The picture is from 2013. Photo: Gunnar Sætra / Gunnar Sætra High risk of pollution Leader of Bellona’s international department, Oskar Njaa, says there are several reasons for this. – In the last ten years, we have seen that the northern sea route is not a safe route. There are unnavigable ice conditions, extreme weather and quite a big risk in using this sea route. Head of Bellona’s international department, Oskar Njaa. Photo: Maya Boutroue Vedeld / Bellona Njaa points out that there is poor infrastructure for search and rescue and preparedness, something that is needed to cover the large areas in question. If an accident occurs, it can lead to large spills of oil. – They can become an environmental disaster, and there are no methods or equipment that can collect oil in this area in an acceptable way, says Njaa. He does not think the risk disappears by building more solid vessels. The cargo vessel “Norilskij Nikel” is jamming and chugging through the Nordaust Passage. The picture is from the port town of Dudinka on the Yenisei River and was taken in 2013. Photo: Gunnar Sætra / Gunnar Sætra Has big ambitions Njaa also says that there has been less traffic through the Nordaustpassage this year than was planned. This year, Russia had planned a cargo volume of 80 million tonnes along the Northern Sea Route. – Those targets were revised to 40 million tonnes earlier this summer. It is still quite a significant volume. Russia has greater ambitions for the future than what they have achieved so far. This is an important investment for the Russian authorities. The town of Dikson at the mouth of the Yenisei was formerly an important supply base for vessels passing through the Northeast Passage. The picture is from 2013. Photo: Gunnar Sætra / Gunnar Sætra Soot and other emissions are harmful Njaa also says that greenhouse gas emissions from ships are harmful to the Arctic – and to the climate, because the vessels use a lot of heavy oil. Russia is the only country that has not signed the new heavy oil ban to the IMO (International Maritime Organization). It was introduced this summer. – It is also a point that the use of heavy oil leads to soot emissions that settle on ice and snow. It contributes to faster melting. So that you get an extra challenge with ice melting due to increased activity in the Arctic. In the port city of Dudinka, goods are transhipped from boats that travel on the Yenisei River to larger ocean-going vessels. The picture is from 2013. Photo: Gunnar Sætra / Gunnar Sætra Need Russian assistance The head of Bellona’s international department also says that it is impossible to sail through the Northeast Passage without help from Russian authorities. – The preparedness Russia has today is not sufficient to do this safely. There is a large environmental risk involved. Norway should not support further development of the Northern Sea Route. Njaa add that the use of Russian services to sail through the Northeast Passage also contributes to the Russian war economy and the war they are waging in Ukraine. The shipping time between China and Europe is ten days shorter through the Northeast Passage than via the Suez Canal – if all goes well. Kirkenes is the first western port on the way from Asia to Europe. Must be clear Bellona believes the Prime Minister must be clear to the Chinese authorities. – The Norwegian governing authorities must send a signal that all plans Norway has for the Arctic must help to stop the growth in the use of the Northeast Passage. We cannot build the future of Northern Norway on increased use of this transport line. The signal must go to both Norwegian actors, the Chinese authorities and the regime in Russia, concludes Njaa. news has contacted the Prime Minister’s office for a comment and has been promised a reply shortly. Published 07.09.2024, at 16.41 Updated 07.09.2024, at 17.31
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Bellona does not want ship traffic in the Nordaustpassage – and forget Kirkenes as a hub – news Troms and Finnmark
