Russia has been driving forward measures that will increase its use of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) for its burgeoning exports of LNG and condensate cargoes.

The Russian government has given security to the 28 ships serving the Novatek-led Yamal LNG project and nudged its Kamchatka Peninsula storage hub forward. But the moves have still left the field wide open as to the type and number of vessels that the company needs to develop its Arctic 2 project.