Russia is going to develop seafood transportation, frozen red fish in particular, by the Northern Sea Route from the Far East to North-West of Russia.
The Northern Sea Route is the shortest route between Northern Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. If the full distance from Rotterdam to Yokohama by the Indian Ocean is 11.2 thousand nautical miles, the route by the Northern Sea is 3.9 thousand nautical miles, or 34 per cent, shorter. This reduces the travel time from 33 to 20 days and, consequently, reduces the cost of delivery.
According to Andrew Krainiy, the head of Federal Agency for Fishery, it’s planned to increase volumes of fish delivered by the Northern Sea route to 80-100 thousand metric tons (compared to 28 thousand metric tons in 2011). The first experimental shipping – delivery of salmon from the Far East to St. Petersburg by “Dalrifer” company accompanied by two icebreakers – has proved it profitable, quickly and cheaply.
Travel by the Northern Sea Route from Kamchatka to St. Petersburg takes 29 days, and delivery costs are about USD 0.2 per kilogram of fish even at the highest rates. Standard delivery of fish from Kamchatka via Vladivostok to Moscow by road transport takes 57-60 days.
Next shipment is planned for August when two refrigerator ships will deliver salmon from the Far Eastern to St. Petersburg. Potential NSR cargo is estimated at 50 million metric tons per year!
