Sea ports play a very important role in exploration of the Arctic and subsoil resources of the Far North. Northern sea route is the shortest way for transportation from Europe to Asia, it starts from Novaya Zemlya archipelago where the so called Kara Gates are situated. This strait is the boundary between the Barents and the Kara sea. Delivery to Novaya Zemlya archipelago of different cargoes from Murmansk, Archangelsk and other ports can have some difficulties if the transporting company doesn’t have any vessels which could make all-year-round navigation , not only summer-time navigation. Arctic shipping has its own , well equipped ice fleet which allows to make cargo transportation to Novaya Zemlya archipelago any time of the year.
Sea ports of the Arctic were built and are built so that to simplify foreign trade and to perform coastal shipping of mineral resources and fuel. Our company takes responsibility to perform transportation to Novaya Zemlya archipelago making for each client its own transport scheme according to which the goods will be delivered in time.
What is an archipelago? It is a row of islands situated in the Arctic Ocean. For a long time it has been a closed military base and even a meteorological station which is situated on the Cape Zhelaniya and remained secret. It is an important point for the seafarers, a landmark which marks watershed between the Barents and the Kara Sea. And even today islands remain a closed territory where polygon , test base , settlement of builders is situated. However, transportation to Novaya Zemlya archipelago and from Novaya Zemlya of different cargoes is a service of great demand.
The archipelago stretched for more than 900 km. The very subnational entity is two large islands, the Southern, with settlements and the Northern with large ice caps. There are also small islands , they is no exploration works and the berths are not equipped.
One can get to Novaya Zemlya Archipelago only by sea or by air. By sea one can take and deliver from the islands any cargo including bulk cargo , containers and equipment.
About 20 thousand sq.km. are occupied with ice on the Northern island. It is the largest Russian and European gletcher. The southern island is an arctic tundra, where nonferrous metal ores and ferrous metal ores are found. The areas of deposit are the largest in Russia. Here deposits of black iron ores are found. Delivery of goods to Novaya Zemlya archipelago is made only for the inhabitants of the Southern island, because there are no settlements on the rest territory.
The islands are a part of Arkhangelsk region. The administrative center is situated in the settlement Belushya Guba in the Southern Island. Its population makes 2 thousand people. Not far from it, there is another settlement, Rogachevo. There are no nenets people on the island , that’s why delivery to Novaya Zemplya archipelago is made as a rule according to the order of the military men. In summer the vessels deliver goods to the shore which are not equipped with special berths and ports , tugs and barges are used. In winter they are nuclear power ice breakers which make the way in the ice.
Next to Belushya Guba bay there are deposits of fossil energy reserves- oil, condensate, gas. That’s why logistics of transport traffic to Novaya Zemlya archipelago is one of the priorities of development of the Far North and all the vessels making their voyages along the North Sea Route.
