A new report by the Russian Ministry of Economic Development forecasts that Russian maritime trade will continue to expand in the coming years, reaching 29.6 million tons by 2026, for a 7.3% increase over 2022.

The ministry released its forecast for the country’s economic development for 2024-2026. The projection sees sea cargo turnover continuing to rise over the ensuing years. Inland freight traffic for 2023 is predicted to increase by 2.4% or 119.2 million tons.

Maritime cargo transportation, especially by the Northern Sea Route (NSR), has been steadily increasing as Russia has sought to promote the route. Moscow expects that the NSR, which extends for the entire length of Russia’s Arctic and Far East regions, will become a major shipping route for cargoes transiting between Europe and Asia.

Compared to trade routes through the Suez or Panama canals, the Arctic sea route could dramatically reduce shipping times. It had been used commonly during the Soviet era to supply goods to isolated encampments in the Arctic.

NSR developer Rosatom says it expects to see, “explosive growth” in cargo turnover on the route in the near future.