India is “very interested” in the Northern Sea Route and joint development of capabilities is ongoing, says Russian minister
India is considering increasing its use of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) running through the Arctic ocean in the future because of disruptions to seaborne trade in the Hormuz strait, Alexey Chekunkov, the Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, has said.
Speaking to RT on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2026) on Friday, Chekunkov said that the operational shipping line between Vladivostok and Chennai, called the Russia-India sea transport corridor, can be extended to link India to European markets via the NSR.
Russia wants the NSR – which runs through the Arctic Ocean off the country’s northern coastline and is the shortest shipping route between East Asia and Europe – to become a major shipping lane, and is investing heavily in its infrastructure.
It would provide India with alternative routes to ship commodities to markets in eastern and northern Europe, saving up to 40% in distance and about two weeks of travel time – compared to traditional routes through the Suez Canal.
The disruption of shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz following the conflict in Iran has made this route more appealing for India.
“The Indian side is very interested in it,” Chekunkov said. “We have dramatic common capabilities, common opportunities to jointly develop ice-level fleet to jointly develop container shipping, which is happening.”
Indian shipyards are building four non-nuclear icebreaker ships to navigate the harsh waters of the Arctic route.
Russian energy major Gazprom delivered its first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) via the Northern Sea Route to China in 2023, saving 2 weeks in voyage time.
He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian business community are interested in developing trade ties with the Russian Far East, realizing its major logistical and economic potential.
The Russia-India sea transport corridor became operational in 2024. Also called the Eastern Maritime Corridor (EMC), this route originally opened in the 1960s and facilitated Soviet trade with India. Later, as the volume of goods being shipped decreased, it fell into disuse.
