Photo: Shtrik Vadim/GeoPhoto.ru
Strategic Partnership Between Rosatom and Nornickel to Help Unblock the NSR
Russian-based corporation Nornickel will hand over Taimyr icebreaker to Rosatom to help the latter address the traffic jam on the Northern Sea Route, Nornickel’s press service stated today, 1 December 2021. Currently, the mentioned nuclear-powered icebreaker is engaged in escort duties in the Dudinka area, Russian Arctic under a long-term contract concluded between Nornickel and Rosatom.
Rosatom’s second-in-command and Director of the NSR Directorate Viacheslav Ruksha asked Nornickel’s top management to temporarily reassign the icebreaker back under Rosatom’s control so as it could take part in the rescue operations underway on the NSR. As we have already reported, in early November, due to an unexpected cold snap, several vessels had been caught off-guard by ice on the NSR.
Nornickel has agreed to lend a helping hand to the nuclear monopoly: the corporate traffic schedule will be amended to make Taimyr available for the rescue effort coordinated by Rosatom’s subsidiary Atomflot. Taimyr‘s joining the rescue team is a matter of days, Nornickel says.
The reassignment was possible owing to a long-term strategic partnership between the two major Russian corporations. Their partnership was cemented by a cooperation agreement signed by Rosatom and Nornickel in 2018. Exploration and development in the Arctic are unthinkable without mutual assistance and team spirit. As we can see, the situation on the NSR is yet another proof of this.
Arctic Today is a column by PORA CEO Alexander Stotskiy analyzing major international, national and regional events and trends in the Arctic.