Arctic: A Rreimagined Strategic Resource Base for Russia

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Shaheer Ahmad ◽  
Mohammad Ali Zafar
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
International Law ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Resource Base ◽  
Northern Sea Route ◽  
Regional Dynamics ◽  
Economic Needs ◽  
Strategic Resource

Russia’s Arctic ambitions are gaining attention as global warming provides Russia with an opportunity to access the untapped energy reservoirs lying in the seabed of the Arctic. Russia’s new Arctic strategy aims to utilize the Arctic as a ‘strategic resource base’ to fulfill its socio-economic needs. Moreover, the interrelated projects of Yamal LNG and the opening of the Northern Sea Route as a global shipping route show the Russian interplay of geo-economics and geopolitics. Similarly, the Russian strategies of the Northern Fleet’s revival, Sino-Russian cooperation, regional diplomacy, informational campaigns, and international law show Russia’s efforts to highlight its ambitions in the region. This paper argues that the melting ice in the Arctic coupled with evolving regional dynamics will enhance the Kremlin’s position in the region.

Moscow will press Arctic claims with law and military

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
The Arctic ◽  
Competitive Environment ◽  
Resource Base ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology Transfers ◽  
Northern Sea Route ◽  
Military Presence ◽  
Territorial Claim ◽  
Defence Sector ◽  
Russian Military

Subject Russia's Arctic strategy. Significance Russia has identified the Arctic as a strategic priority and future resource base, and is working systematically to expand its territorial claim and consolidate control of the Northern Sea Route (NSR). While it seeks cooperation with like-minded Arctic states, it is upgrading its military capacity to defend its interests in what it sees as an increasingly competitive environment as outside players try to make inroads. Impacts NATO states will respond to Moscow's growing military presence by upgrading their Arctic capacity. Russian military expansion will be constrained by procurement delays affecting the defence sector generally. A relaxation in US sanctions would facilitate technology transfers for developing Arctic hydrocarbons deposits.

scholarly journals The Specifics of the Partnership between Russia and the Republic of Korea in the Economic Development of the Arctic

2021 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 7-14
Author(s):  
Ya. V. Leksyutina ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Republic Of Korea ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Resource Base ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
Bilateral Relations ◽  
Northern Sea Route ◽  
Policy Statements ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Arctic Policy

Since 2013, when the Republic of Korea (ROK) was admitted in the Arctic Council as an observer and issued its first Arctic policy, Seoul has strengthened its engagement in the Arctic and revealed its strong interest in expanding the economic cooperation in the Arctic with Russia. Seeing Arctic cooperation as mutually beneficial and further advancing the bilateral relations, Russia and the ROK have made a number of policy statements on their intentions to develop cooperation in the Arctic. This paper reveals the specifics and current scale of Russia’s cooperation with the ROK in the development of the resource base of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation and the Northern Sea Route.

scholarly journals Impact phenomena assessment: Part I – Structural performance of a tanker subjected to ship grounding at the Arctic

2018 ◽  
Vol 159 ◽  
pp. 02061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aditya Rio Prabowo ◽  
Jung Hoon Byeon ◽  
Hyun Jin Cho ◽  
Jung Min Sohn ◽  
Dong Myung Bae ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Tensile Testing ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Structural Performance ◽  
Reduce Fuel Consumption ◽  
Ship Structures ◽  
Northern Sea Route ◽  
Impact Phenomena ◽  
Ship Grounding

The remarkable influence of the global warming to Arctic environment opens a possibility to conduct a voyage from Asia to Europe through the Northern Sea Route (NSR). This option is considered as a decent solution to reduce fuel consumption and increase time efficiency in delivering cargo to the designated destination. However, this alternative comes with a challenge to keep safety of ship structures against an impact with obstacles which are possibly encountered at the Arctic. Solid ice can be considered as a serious threat to the double bottom of ship structures in impact phenomena, especially ship grounding. In this work, a series of grounding calculations are conducted to produce estimation of structural crashworthiness during interaction between double bottom and conical type ice. Material characteristics based on tensile testing of polar class material are applied to calculation and compared with non-polar steel.

scholarly journals The Northern Sea Route: Problems of National Status Legitimization under International Law. Part II

2020 ◽  
pp. 130-147
Author(s):  
Pavel GUDEV ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Northern Sea Route ◽  
The Status ◽  
Ice Conditions ◽  
Legal Position ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Broad Interpretation ◽  
Legal Grounds

The second part of the paper shows that the regime of navigation in the Arctic, particularly on the NSR, defended by Russia today, is much more liberal than that which existed in the Soviet years: up to the Gorbachev’s 1987 Murmansk speech the Soviet Arctic was a closed sea region for foreign navigation. Per-missive order of passage established today at the level of Russian national legislation applies only to civil ships, and in the framework of the 1982 Convention, measures to protect the marine environment from pollution from ships cannot be applied to warships, military auxiliary ships, and ships on the state non-commercial service. However, the presence on the Northern Sea routes of water areas with the status of internal historical waters, including several Arctic straits, plus the special legal status of the Arctic, which is not limited exclusively to the 1982 Convention, allows Russia to insist on the applicability of the permit regime also to foreign warships. This approach is based mainly on the two states’ practice with the longest coastline in the Arctic: the USSR and Canada. Navigation along the NSR in today’s ice conditions is not yet possible without passing through the waters of the Russian Arctic Straits, whose waters are classified by the USSR as internal on historical legal grounds. Although under the 1982 Convention, they can be conditionally regarded as international, the lack of permanent transit through them makes it possible not to recognize them as such. However, the Russian Federation’s task to turn the NSR into an international shipping route may lead to a weakening of the current legal position. A similar situation may arise concerning the enforcement of Article 234 “Ice Covered Areas” of the 1982 Convention, which gives the Arctic countries additional rights in the field of navigation control. Lack of ice cover in the Arctic during most of the year can significantly strengthen the position of Russia’s opponents, who insist on a too broad interpretation of this article on our part. Finally, climatic changes may lead to the NSR becoming more latitudinal, and then the Russian Federation will lose any legal grounds to regulate navigation.

Legal Status of the Northern Sea Route of the Russian Federation

10.12737/7635 ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Author(s):  
Вячеслав Гаврилов ◽  
Vyachyeslav Gavrilov
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Comparative Characteristic ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Northern Sea Route ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Characteristic Features

This article addresses to the key issues of the legal status of the Northern Sea Route in the historical perspective and in accordance with the Russian legislation. It contains the comparative characteristic of the Russian approach to this issue and the Canada´s rule-making activity in this area. It describes the characteristic features of the legal status of the internal waters, exclusive economic zone and some arctic straits of Russia in this context. Gives an answer to the question of its correlation with the norms of contemporary international law of the sea and, in particular, with the UN Convention of 1982. In this regard, the paper emphasizes that relevant Russian and Canadian legislation should be treated as lex specialis in relation to the regulation of navigation in the Arctic coastal areas that provide for higher navigation standards and requirements as compared to the international norms of international law of the sea. It is concluded that the integrity and specificity of the legal status of the Northern Sea Route, as well as the Russia´s ability to control using of it can be justified as by a logistic unity of this national transport communication of Russia and by features of the region, where it passes. Indicated the need for further development of regional and international cooperation in the Arctic and for creation of international instruments defining its terms and content. Here lies the key to the peaceful and effective use of resources and spaces of the Arctic taking into consideration the national interests of Russia and other Arctic countries.

OPTIMAL NAVAL PATH PLANNING IN ICE-COVERED WATERS

2021 ◽  
Vol 159 (A1) ◽  
Author(s):  
V Aksakalli ◽  
D Oz ◽  
A F Alkaya ◽  
V Aydogdu
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Time Cost ◽  
Turn Angle ◽  
Grid Graphs ◽  
Northern Sea Route ◽  
Graph Theoretical Approach ◽  
Left And Right

The Northern Sea Route (NSR) links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic and it is critical for global trade as it provides a route between Asia and Europe that is significantly shorter than the alternatives. NSR is soon expected to open for intercontinental shipping due to global warming and thus presents tremendous opportunities for reductions in shipping time, cost, and environmental impacts. On the other hand, facilitating this route requires innovative approaches due to the navigation risks associated with its ice-covered waters. This study presents a graph-theoretical approach for optimal naval navigation in ice-covered sea routes with flexible turn angles based on the idea of large-adjacency grid graphs. Our model allows for asymmetric left and right turn radii as well as turn speeds that vary as a function of the turn angle and it offers natural-looking navigation paths.

Re-navigating the Geopolitical Pivot: China in the Arctic-Heartland

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Aneesa Aslam ◽  
Ayesha Shaikh
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Silk Road ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Northern Sea Route ◽  
The World

Halford J. Mackinder cautioned the world that if a great industrial power manages to rule over the Heartland, it will govern the world. The 21st century is marked by the resurgence of his classical geopolitical thought. Global warming has rendered the Arctic navigable, altering the dynamics of the Heartland and world organisms at large, but now the caution comes from the Arctic. Mackinder's assertion that China, as a great industrial power, has developed its Arctic strategy for a Polar Silk Road to pursue its determined interests in the Arctic-Heartland. To further strengthen its position in the region, it has forged a cooperative alliance with Russia, one of the biggest Arctic states. Chinese interest in the region and the Strategic Russo-Chinese Alliance to develop the Polar Silk Road along the Northern Sea Route is a matter of grave concern for the world at large: for whoever rules over the Heartland, governs the world.

Optimal Naval Path Planning in Ice-Covered Waters

2017 ◽  
Vol Vol 159 (A1) ◽  
Author(s):  
V Aksakalli ◽  
D Oz ◽  
A F Alkaya ◽  
V Aydogdu
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Time Cost ◽  
Turn Angle ◽  
Grid Graphs ◽  
Northern Sea Route ◽  
Graph Theoretical Approach ◽  
Left And Right

The Northern Sea Route (NSR) links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic and it is critical for global trade as it provides a route between Asia and Europe that is significantly shorter than the alternatives. NSR is soon expected to open for intercontinental shipping due to global warming and thus presents tremendous opportunities for reductions in shipping time, cost, and environmental impacts. On the other hand, facilitating this route requires innovative approaches due to the navigation risks associated with its ice-covered waters. This study presents a graph-theoretical approach for optimal naval navigation in ice-covered sea routes with flexible turn angles based on the idea of large-adjacency grid graphs. Our model allows for asymmetric left and right turn radii as well as turn speeds that vary as a function of the turn angle and it offers natural-looking navigation paths.

scholarly journals The trends in the development of the legal regime of the Northern Sea Route

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 276-295
Author(s):  
Damir K. Bekyashev ◽  
◽  
Kamil A. Bekyashev ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
Northern Sea Route ◽  
History Of ◽  
Russian Law ◽  
Foreign Science

The Northern Sea Route is the national transport communication lane for the Russian Federation. Russia historically controls the Northern Sea Route through an appropriate national legal framework and international law. However, some states have raised the issue of internationalizing the Northern Sea Route and extending the freedom of navigation to it. In their opinion, shipping in the Arctic Straits should not be regulated by Russian law. In this regard, the authors consider it appropriate to conduct a study of the current legal regime of the Northern Sea Route and provide a legal assessment of the relevant proposals for its change. The article analyzes the history of the development of the Northern Sea Route, its structure and current legal regulation. Proposals to improve the current legal regime of the Northern Sea Route have been developed. Particular attention is paid to the study of the legal regime of the straits included in the Northern Sea Route, since there are different points of view in Russian and foreign science and practice. Given the importance of ensuring the safe operation of ships in the waters of the Northern Sea Route, the provisions of the Polar Code of the International Maritime Organization are analyzed. The authors substantiate the inconsistency of proposals for a radical change in the legal regime of the Northern Sea Route, which appear in foreign literature and statements by a number of foreign statesmen. The authors’ conclusions are based on an analysis of the current Russian legislation and international law, as well as the existing practice of using the Northern Sea Route by Russian and foreign vessels.

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