Murmansk-based Sergey Balmasov, who is head of information at the Centre for High North Logistics (CHNL), recorded 1,705 ship voyages on the Northern Sea Route (NSR) in 2016 but only 19 full transits.
In a presentation, Balmasov detailed that of the 297 ships working on the route during the year, 190 — or 64% — were Russian flag and the majority were below 30,000 gross tons (gt) in size.
