RUSSIA
Breaking the Ice
President Vladimir Putin unveiled ambitious plans to triple the size of Russia’s fleet of icebreakers and construct new ports on both sides of the Arctic shipping route in a bid to boost cargo shipments from last year’s 20 million tons to 80 million tons by 2025.
Addressing leaders from Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden at the Arctic forum in St. Petersburg, Putin said Russia is already building three nuclear icebreakers to add to its fleet of four, and plans to have 13 heavy icebreakers, including nine nuclear-powered ones, by 2035, the Associated Press reported.
That could put Moscow in pole position, so to speak, in the race to assert jurisdiction over parts of the Arctic as melting ice creates new opportunities for shipping and resource extraction, the agency noted.
Already, Russia has modernized a string of Soviet-era military bases to strengthen its hold on the region, which is estimated to hold up to one-quarter of the Earth’s undiscovered oil and gas. Meanwhile, other leaders at the forum spoke of the need to focus on areas of mutual interest to ensure peace and stability.
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