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Russian agency gears up for regular NSR voyages

Russian government body State Atomic Energy Corp Rosatom, which manages the Northern Sea Route (NSR) infrastructure and operations, is gearing up for regular shipping services through the Arctic. Director general Alexey Likhachev said on Friday it had issued permits to Chinese liner operator Sea Legend Shipping for eight China-Europe sailings using the Arctic route. Sea Legend ran a trial NSR voyage last year with the 4,890 teu Istanbul Bridge to carry cargos from Ningbo to Felixstowe. For the 2026 NSR navigational season, running until November, the line wants to ship more goods from China to Europe. Mr Likhachev said this year, Rosatom wanted to see weekly NSR sailings throughout the whole season in order to turn the NSR into an alternative to the Suez Canal. He said: "Unlike previous container shipments via the NSR, which were largely experimental or one-off in ⁠nature, the 2026 programme provides for a fully-fledged regular service with vessels sailing every week." Russia had long hoped to turn the route into a "second Suez Canal", but this vision was hampered by high transportation costs and the icy climate, he added. The US/Israel-Iran conflict and the Red Sea crisis had made the Arctic route more globally significant. Russia's NSR ambitions coincide with those of China and South Korea to exploit the route as a truncated pathway from Asia to Russia and Europe. While Chinese liner operator Yangpu Newnew Shipping was the most active user of the NSR last year, and is working with Rosatom to develop port infrastructure in the area, the South Korean government, through ferry operator Panstar Line, is preparing for a trial container shipping voyage through the Arctic on 22 August. In late July, the China Shipowners' Association announced that several dry bulk ship operators would transit the NSR between August and September, calling at Murmansk and Arkhangelsk in Russia. The association said the NSR was shorter than the usual Suez transit by 30% and avoided its security risks. Perhaps, in response to Russia's war on Ukraine, ships have been moving in convoys along the NSR, especially when Russia is shipping more crude oil and LNG to China amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. At the start of August, some nine tankers were waiting for icebreaker escort for the eastbound passage through the Taymyr Peninsula, according to news site The Barents Observe.

'Data center conundrum': what if the financing boom outruns physical reality?

Would you believe it: the regulator has confirmed that post-crisis investor protections never applied to a fast-growing securitization market financing the biggest driver of air cargo growth. Just as moratoriums multiply and 50-plus projects are canceled. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has confirmed that a set of post-2008 financial crisis safeguards do not apply to data center securitizations, a clarification that will make it cheaper and faster for operators to raise debt against their facilities - and which ...

US tariffs: refunds, Section 301 duties, and importer advice

While importers are beginning to receive refunds after the US Supreme Court struck down the original IEEPA tariff regime, the Trump administration has already introduced a new Section 301 tariff framework targeting imports from 60 economies. In this episode of The Loadstar Podcast, host Charlotte Goldstone is joined by Trade Force Multiplier CEO Cindy Allen to unpack the latest developments. They discuss how the refund process is progressing, why the new tariff regime is legally different, the biggest compliance risks facing importers, whether US Customs and Border Protection has the resources to enforce the new rules, and how businesses can build resilience in an increasingly unpredictable trade environment. Whether you're a freight forwarder, customs broker, importer, or shipper, this episode offers practical insights into what you should be reviewing before your next shipment.