| Summary: | `titrebThe Northern Sea Route Hopes for a New Life `/titreb Navigating the Arctic Ocean between the 14,000 kilometers separating the Barents Sea from the Bering Strait, is the most economic and perhaps the only way to reach the vast territories of northern Russia. These are particularly rich in oil (35 % of world reserves) and ores of all kinds and also play a crucial role in strategic and military planning. This was well understood by the Soviet authorities who decided in the early 1930s to refurbish the North Sea route (Sevmorput), open year round since 1978, in the west to Dikson and the mouth of the Yenisei River, for the merchant marine. At the end of the 1980s, the USSR counted 350 ice class cargo vessels with reinforced hulls, and 16 long-haul ice-breakers, including 8 nuclear powered the traffic culminated in 7 million tons during this decade, despite the difficulties in navigating a sea iced-over for most of the time. However, the collapse of the Soviet system and the end to budget subsidies created a deep recession : the fleet is now reduced to around sixty ice class vessels and only 6 ice-breakers are in service, half of some fifty ports constructed in the Soviet era are no longer in use, sea traffic reached at most 3.5 million tons, military bases were dismantled and the cities emptied of their population. Aware that the development of the Far North was one of the vectors enabling it to continue as a great power, Moscow has endeavoured to revive activity on the sea route. Management was entrusted to a public agency, but the government is allowing client companies, ship owners and the regions involved to participate. Much effort will be required to bring traffic to 10-15 million tons by 2015-2020, in particular by increasing and modernizing harbor infrastructures, as well as the merchant fleet. In addition, the lifting of the restrictions still imposed on foreign ships should give impetus to international transit. La navigation sur l’océan Arctique, sur les quelque 14 000 km séparant la mer de ...
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