© GRAPHIC NEWS

ARCTIC

CIRCLE

Rotterdam

Shanghai

Suez Canal

Cape of Good Hope

Rotterdam

Panama

Canal

Shanghai

Strait of

Magellan

Graphic compares alternative sea routes from Europe to Asia, with distance and average time taken.
GN41191EN

BUSINESS

Russia’s Northern Arctic Sea Route

By Phil Bainbridge

March 30, 2021 - Russia is highlighting the viability of its Northern Sea Route (NSR) following the six-day blockage of the Suez Canal by a stranded container ship. The NSR trims 4,000 nautical miles off the route via Suez

Receding sea ice is now making year-round navigation of the Northern Route possible, and cargo traffic is expected to more than double in the next few years, from 33 million tonnes to 80 million by 2024, although till a long way short of the 1.17 billion tonnes that pass through the Suez canal.

The suspension of traffic through Suez quickly disrupted world trade already suffering due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, Suez is not the only bottleneck for world trade, with the Straits of Hormuz and Malacca, and the Panama Canal, all potentially vulnerable.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 30/03/2021; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Newscom
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