Will India join world's first regular service on Northern Shipping Route? What we know so far

The global maritime sector is all set for a major change as the world's first regular service on the Northern Shipping Route (NSR) begins on Saturday. This sparks the question: will India's ports be on it?

This is the weekly container service from Chinese firm Sea Legend Shipping, which will run for a seven-week period along the frigid Arctic route till October 3.

October 3 has been chosen as the end date as it is "broadly aligned with the period when ships can expect to transit without icebreaker assistance", as per Niels Rasmussen, chief shipping analyst at the shipping lobby BIMCO.

A fleet of seven vessels with a capacity ranging between 1,528 and 4,890 TEUs will be used for weekly departures from the Ningbo-Zhoushan port complex on China’s east coast, near Shanghai.

The Liberian-flagged Dubai Tower (IMO: 9433066) will be the first to kick off the regular service on August 15, and is expected to arrive at the British port of Felixstowe on September 5.

After Felixstowe—from where some cargo will be re-routed to other European countries—ships on the service are also expected to call at ports such as Rotterdam (Netherlands), Wilhelmshaven (Germany), and Gdynia (Poland).

This comes after the Liberian-flagged container ship Istanbul Bridge (IMO: 9200811) completed the Ningbo-Felixstowe route in just 20 days as part of a trial, despite a storm slowing it down by two days.

India and the NSR

Though India's eastern ports are not currently a part of Sea Legend's NSR service, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) on Thursday made a major statement on Arctic shipping.

According to Venkatesapathy S., Joint Secretary (MoPSW), India is looking to put its first-ever vessel on the NSR, as a part of its expansion plans for the 5,600-nautical-mile Eastern Maritime Corridor (Chennai to Vladivostok) towards the Arctic route.

Speaking at the Arctic Regions Forum in Arkhangelsk, he explained that this was being planned as a part of growing India-Russia cooperation, especially in shipping.

A growing concern

Despite the NSR being longer than traditional shipping routes such as the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, the route is becoming increasingly attractive amid disruptions in shipping due to global headwinds.

However, this has led to concerns from NGOs and other sustainability organisations, because though these routes can offer safer transits, increasing vessel traffic on Arctic shipping routes poses great risk to the environment there.

In that regard, shipping companies such as France's CMA CGM, Switzerland's MSC, and Germany's Hapag Lloyd have signed the Arctic Corporate Shipping Pledge to "avoid Arctic transshipment routes", which includes the NSR. India and China have not yet signed it.