The Electrification of Ships Using the Northern Sea Route: An Approach

Abstract

Global warming is causing a major ice retreat from the North Pole. From now on, this retreat allows almost permanent movement between East and West off the coast of the Russian Federation along the Northern Sea Route (NSR). For a long time, navigators have been trying to use this route which significantly reduced the distance between continents. The amount of freight that currently travels on the NSR will inevitably increase in the coming years. To reduce environmental risks, one possible option is not to supply ships with heavy fuel oil. The ships could then be electrically powered and navigate in stages from one port to another along the route to refuel for energy. This electrical energy can be produced on site from renewable energy sources. In this article, a first feasibility analysis is outlined, taking into account the tonnage constraints for navigating on a possible route for the NSR, the cost of energy production and the possible location of several ports of call. Under current economic conditions, the solution would not be profitable as it stands, but should become so at a later stage, which justifies starting to think about a future full electrification of navigation on the NSR, which will also contribute to the economic development of the Russian Federation northernmost regions.

The Demographic Factor Impact on the Economics of the Arctic Region

“…The Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug achieved a relatively stable gender parity. The growth in the male population of the Krasnoyarsk Territory is mainly associated with an increase of production of both oil (related to the discovery of the new field by the subsidiary of Rosneft-RN-Vankor; the oil company continues to implement an integrated exploration programme aimed at increasing the resource base of the Vostok Oil project and complex ores (the activities of Russia's largest non-ferrous metallurgy company PJSC Norilsk Nickel [48,49]) in the North-East region of Russia, as well as with the fact that part of the southern part of the Krasnoyarsk Territory is not included in the Russian Arctic.…”

Sustainable Development of Oil and Gas Potential of the Arctic and Its Shelf Zone: The Role of Innovations

“…However, for the sustainable development of the oil and gas potential of the region, it is necessary to ensure the well-being of personnel as well as the native population. The development of oil and gas resources as well as future shipping routes (due to global warming, the northern Siberian route reduces the distance between major ports [47]) create one of the most serious problems for circumpolar indigenous peoples and their lands [48]. Significant harm to indigenous peoples is caused by industrial companies as they exploit natural resources, the locations of which often coincide with the areas used for the traditional lifestyles and economic activities of aboriginal peoples [49].…”

Prospects and Obstacles for Green Hydrogen Production in Russia

“…Taking into account the current situation in the industry, the development of power storage systems will significantly reduce the severity of problems associated with the classical "bottlenecks" of the system power industry, including the Unified Energy System (UES) and isolated zones and individual power plants, as well as the issues of the formation and maintenance of electricity production and consumption [18,27,28]. Thus, equalization of the electricity demand schedule and reduction of cyclic peaks will allow for reducing the volume of forced reserves of the power system capacity, including the network capacity, and, accordingly, the cost of their maintenance.…”