Northern Sea Route cargo to grow 14% in 2026
According to him, transport between Chinese and Russian ports accounts for nearly 15% of the cargo flow via the Sino-Russian Land Bridge (SRLB) – 5.4 million tons out of 37.02 million tons for the year 2025. He recalled that last year, 23 container voyages were completed between Chinese and Russian ports via the SRLB.
Consensus
- The cargo volume on the Northern Sea Route is expected to increase by 14% in 2025 compared to 2025.
- The cargo volume on the Northern Sea Route reached over 37 million tons in 2025.
- The Northern Sea Route is a key national transport artery for Russia connecting Western Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region.
- The volume of cargo transported on the Northern Sea Route has grown nearly tenfold over the past 10 years.
- The Russian government has allocated nearly 138 billion rubles for the development of the Northern Sea Route in the 2026–2028 budget.
Points of divergence
- The cargo volume on the Northern Sea Route in 2026 is expected to grow by 14% year-on-year, with Chinese carriers accounting for nearly 15% of the total volume (5.4 million tons). — interfax
- In 2026, Chinese carriers plan to conduct more than 30 container voyages along the Northern Sea Route, up from 23 in 2025. — interfax
- In August–October 2026, eight voyages are planned from the Chinese port of Ningbo to the British port of Felixstowe. — interfax
- The first transit voyage from China to Europe via the Northern Sea Route took place in 2025, taking 20 days—nearly half the time of traditional southern routes. — interfax
- As of the end of August 2026, 24.2 million tons of cargo had been transported along the Northern Sea Route over eight months, representing a 15% increase compared to the same period in 2025. — kommersant
- The Northern Sea Route is approximately 5,600 km long. — kommersant
- Key infrastructure projects for the Northern Sea Route, including deep-water port construction and node modernization, were planned for 2025–2026. — kommersant
Coverage (3 sources)
- Cargo traffic on the Northern Sea Route increased by 13% — Вести
- Rosatom expects cargo traffic on the Northern Sea Route to grow by 14% in 2026 — Интерфакс
- Cargo traffic on the Northern Sea Route grew by 15% over eight months — Коммерсантъ
Key entities
- Rosatom
- Moscow
- Alexei Likhachov
- Ministry of Eastern Development
- SMP
- Northern Sea Route
- Sevmorput
- INTERFAX.RU
- Expert
- Arctic
- Far East
- Deputy Head
- Alexei Chekunkov
- Anton Basanskiy
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