The recent blockage of the Suez Canal demonstrates the necessity of developing the Northern Sea Route as an alternative means of shipping goods between Asia and Europe, said the president of the Arctic Economic Council.
The ‘Ever Given’container vessel ran aground in the Suez Canal in March and the ship held up freight traffic through one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes for almost a week.
“I think we saw with the Suez Canal that we cannot be dependent on just one supply chain. We need to diversify and companies have gone from this concept of just-in-time to just-in-case, and I think that the Northern Sea Route will be a supplement to the other places, and there is huge potential there, but we still need to develop the infrastructure along the route,” the president said.