St. Petersburg has been currently claiming to play one of the leading roles in the development of the Russian Arctic. Over the past half-year in the city has acquired a vice-governor and a committee for Arctic affairs. Today St. Petersburg is not only a scientific center, but also a significant hub for implementation of international projects related to the development of the Far North. In the framework of the SPIEF, experts told about the role of St. Petersburg in the Arctic zone.
The use of the Arctic potential became the subject of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum 2018 discussion program. May 25 saw the session "Arctic is Territory of Dialogue" - "Arctic Potential: The Northern Sea Route as the Driver of Economic Growth" held at the SPIEF.
Arctic Science
Today St. Petersburg harbours one of the largest centers for the study of polar latitudes. It is the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, which conducts research and observations, including for the administration of the Northern Sea Route and companies operating in the North.
“We have a very large-scale work program - we conduct research, collaborate with the administration of the Northern Sea Route, provide information about the weather and ice conditions, and work with companies that carry out economic development of the region,” - Alexander Makarov, director of the AARI mentioned.
The Voyeikov Main Geophysical Observatory conducts climate studies and, in particular, tries to predict how its expected changes will affect our lives.
"We have a project of the Russian Science Foundation, which is dedicated to the development of a technology based on physical and mathematical modeling for assessing future climate changes and climate impacts on various sectors of the Russian economy. It regards agriculture, forestry, energy, construction, and transportation as well. This is very important for the Arctic. For example, everything related to the development prospects of the Northern Sea Route, its infrastructure, and, of course, energy, pipelines, etc. All this requires estimates from the point of view of the aftermath of the expected climate change”, - the observatory director, Vladimir Kattsov, told to Tass.
Arctic Shipbuilding
Over the years of their work, the shipbuilding enterprises of St. Petersburg have accumulated great experience in the construction of various vessels for the Arctic and, above all, icebreakers. It was in this city that nuclear icebreakers "Lenin", "Siberia", "Russia", "Yamal", and others were built. Today, the Baltic plant is working on three icebreakers of the newest project “22220 Arctic”.
Private companies operating in the North often turn to Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport of Russia with a request to provide icebreakers for work in the northern ports. St. Petersburg icebreakers, namely “St. Petersburg”, “Moscow”, “Novorossiysk” and “Tor” have already operated in the North.
International Cooperation
Petersburg can very well become a gateway to the Arctic for foreign companies. Already in Soviet times, joint projects with Finnish shipbuilders were implemented in Leningrad. Today, the Aker Arctic Technology Inc itself works with the Vyborg Shipyard, which builds port icebreakers upon their project.