Navigation infrastructure of the Northern Sea Route

The reduction of sea ice area in the Arctic has increased the availability of the Russian Arctic seas for navigation by vessels of relatively low ice class. The signing of the Act on the Northern Sea Route (NSR) by the President of the Russian Federation has created the possibility for ships from countries other than Russia to use the NSR. However, the NSR is very poorly recognized in terms of navigation by countries other than Russia. The author of the paper analyzed the NSR navigation infrastructure components in terms of the reliability of the information provided by the main producers of nautical publications for initial voyage planning. For the purpose of this analysis an indicator of the quality of the navigation infrastructure was developed. The value of this indicator, obtained on the basis of the above analysis, is low. Navigators that collect information during the initial stage of voyage planning may be misled if they use nautical publications originating from only one global producer of charts and publications. If the navigators act in accordance with good seamanship and familiarize themselves with information from two or three global producers of nautical publications, they may be disoriented due to the receipt of divergent information. It seems that before the voyage begins and preferably before planning a trip, the master or owner of the vessel intending to carry out a voyage by the NSR should first use the most current local knowledge in the possession of the Northern Sea Route Administration. This is also where information can be found as to where to obtain the most current and reliable information for initial voyage planning.