Murmansk Region Authorities: Japan to Import Seafood Via Northern Sea Route

Japanese companies are interested in assessing opportunities for using the Northern Sea Route to import crabs and other seafood to Japan and want to establish contacts with the Murmansk Region, the regional government's press service said in a statement.

MURMANSK — Alexei Tyukavin, First Deputy Governor of the Murmansk Region, held a working meeting with Natsuhiko Otsuka, Research &Development and Management Planning Manager with North Japan Port Consultants Ltd. Their meeting focused on current Northern Sea Route operations and prospects for expanded regional freight traffic.

"The Japanese side voiced an interest in studying opportunities for using the Northern Sea Route to import crabs and other seafood to Japan," the press service statement notes.

During the meeting, Mr. Tyukavin discussed plans to launch a container line that would link Murmansk and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The project would take the load off the Trans-Siberian Railway used for freight deliveries to the Russian Far East. The nuclear lighter-aboard (LASH) ship Sevmorput could help maintain container traffic.

According to the regional government, Atomflot is planning to reactivate the nuclear lighter-aboard (LASH) ship that can significantly extend the period, during which the Northern Sea Route can be utilized for two-way freight traffic between Murmansk and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. There are plans to conduct a container ship trial run in the autumn of 2016.