Why Russia’s Northern Sea Route is a risk for global trade in International Shipping News 05/05/2026 The Iran war and resulting blockade of the Strait of Hormuz have focused minds on international shipping. Russian officials are promoting the Northern Sea Route (NSR), an Arctic sea lane running along their country’s northern coast. President Vladimir Putin said in April the route’s importance as “the most safe, reliable and efficient path is becoming ever more obvious.” It is the shortest maritime route between Asia and Europe. But it’s frozen for much of the year, and comes with significant political considerations. DW asked an environmental foundation which has studied the route — how realistic is this vision of the NSR as a new major shipping passage? Northern shipping route less popular because of Russia’s war in Ukraine Shipping goods along the Northern Sea Route can reduce travel distance by up to 40%, compared to going via the Suez Canal, which is the most common route between Asia and Europe. But for a host of reasons, the NSR is not used that often. Moscow had planned to move 80 million tons of cargo through it by 2024, but those ambitions were stymied by the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Western sanctions that followed. NSR infrastructure operator Rosatom recorded less than half of the goal, around 38 million tons of cargo, actually passing through that year. That’s less than 1% of global maritime trade — compared with up to 15% that usually passes through the Suez Canal. Even so, Russia is continuing significant investment, budgeting 1.8 trillion Russian rubles (around €20.5 billion/$24 billion) for NSR development until 2035. The NSR remains primarily a route for Russian crude oil and liquid natural gas (LNG), which formed more than 80% of cargo passing along in 2024. Those figures come from the Bellona Environmental Foundation’s 2025 report, an international environmental NGO with headquarters in Oslo, Norway. Ksenia Vakhrusheva, Bellona’s Ar