Patrushev said accurate ice forecasts are important for the safety of the Northern Sea Route

Specialists should improve the accuracy of forecasts of ice conditions in the Arctic to ensure the safety of the Northern Sea Route (NSR). This was stated by Nikolai Patrushev, aide to the Russian President and Chairman of the Russian Maritime Board, during his visit to the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) in St. Petersburg on December 4.

"In order to effectively develop the Arctic and preserve the fragile northern nature, it is necessary to improve the quality of observation results obtained in the existing marine coastal hydrometeorological network. Accurate forecasts of ice conditions, maintenance and development of the Russian orbital constellation of Earth remote sensing spacecraft are important for the safety of the NSR," he said.

Patrushev also emphasized the importance of creating an effective system of hydrometeorological support for maritime activities. It includes the development of observations at marine coastal stations, systems for observing the characteristics of the marine environment, means of processing and analyzing information and methods of calculating the hydrometeorological characteristics of the marine environment, including ice. In addition, the need to study permafrost and forecast its behavior under conditions of global warming was noted.

In the Laboratory of Climate Change and Environment, the Chairman of the Maritime Board was also presented with a project to study the Earth's paleoclimate. And during his visit to the AARI Ice Experimental Pool Patrushev was told about model tests of future ice-class vessels and was shown an experiment - a run in the ice of a model of the scientific expedition vessel "Ivan Frolov". Its construction is currently underway at the Admiralty Shipyards in the Northern Capital.

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Earlier, on November 13, Vladimir Panov, representative of Rosatom State Corporation for the Arctic, said that the cargo flow along the NSR will reach a record 37.6 million tons of cargo by the end of the year. He said that 33.1 million tons of cargo have already been transported along the Northern Sea Route. According to Panov, it is about 5.3% more compared to the previous year.

Prior to that, on November 6, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the implementation of plans for the Northern Sea Route depends on the strengthening of the icebreaker fleet. Putin proposed to think over more effective tariffs for icebreaker transportation of cargoes in order to make it more affordable. He noted that the issues of safety, reliability of navigation, improvement of satellite communications, monitoring of ice conditions and modernization of infrastructure of Arctic ports in the region are to be worked out.

Back in August, Patrushev said that the importance of the Northern Sea Route is growing amid international instability and anti-Russian sanctions