SIMIC

The two companies will work together to develop and test the infrastructure to support cargo to be transported through the Arctic between Northern Europe and East Asia, reports The Maritime Executive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The signing of the agreement comes as Russia continues to develop shipping through the Arctic promoting it as a faster route that is an alternative to the Suez Canal.

"DP World supports Russia's efforts to diversify trade flows between Asia and Europe," said Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group chairman and CEO of DP World. "DP World has already committed to invest US$2 billion with the Russian Direct Investment Fund, and we will continue to work with our partners in Russia to find solutions that allow the Northern Transit Corridor to develop sustainably."

According to Rosatom, the Northern Maritime Transport Corridor (NMTC) is being created in stages on the basis of the Northern Sea Route under the NSR Infrastructure Development Plan 2035 approved by the Government of the Russian Federation. The company said that it will develop a new logistics business to support the next stage of development of the route.

"Building sustainable transport infrastructure in the Arctic opens up new opportunities in developing the Eurasian transit, which can be carried out in the optimal time frame and help reduce the environmental footprint through shorter routes and the advanced low-carbon energy solutions applied," said Alexey Likhachev, director general of Rosatom.

Environmentalists have been critical of Russia's efforts to build Arctic shipping and promoting the environmentally sensitive region to commercial shipping.