In an open letter to Jonas Gahr Støre, Bellona asks the Prime Minister to make it clear that the Chinese must stop shipping traffic through the Northeast Passage.

In the letter, which was featured by NRK, the Norwegian national television broadcaster, Bellona’s Oskar Njaa and Sigurd Enge write:

“The Chinese company China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) has signaled that it wants to establish itself in Kirkenes port. The ongoing negotiations about Kirkenes port and Chinese interests are problematic both for Norwegian security and the Arctic environment. Norwegian security services have already warned that the Chinese shipping company poses a threat to national security.”

Strong Warning

Bellona strongly discourages cooperation with entities that wish to use the Northern Sea Route. The route is unsafe for ships and crews, is harmful to the climate, and creates an unacceptable risk of pollution to the Arctic environment. Additionally, all activity along the Northern Sea Route gives Russian authorities more opportunities to finance their war efforts.

Since the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Kirkenes has long been a hub for people-to-people cooperation in the Barents region and economic collaboration with Russian entities. This positive development came to a sudden halt after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Many cooperative projects stopped, economic activity decreased, Barents region cooperation stalled, the work of the Arctic Council has been put on hold, and access to Norwegian ports for the Russian fleet of fishing vessels has been limited. This represents a new reality for Kirkenes, with new challenges and different demands for how local authorities and businesses will continue development in the region.

Enormous Strain

The Arctic is where global warming is most intense, and Arctic ecosystems are under enormous strain. Bellona has worked for decades with Arctic industry, especially oil & gas and shipping through the Northern Sea Route. Our experiences can be summarized as follows:

• The Northern Sea Route is not a safe route for the commercial fleet due to increasingly unpredictable ice conditions, more extreme weather, changes in currents and wave patterns, and poorly updated nautical charts.
• The infrastructure for search, rescue, and preparedness does not match the vast distances these areas represent.
• Using the Northern Sea Route harms the global climate. Soot emissions from shipping in Arctic waters accelerate ice melt, in addition to the global impact of CO2 emissions.
• On July 1st this year, the IMO introduced a ban on the use of heavy fuel oil in the Arctic. We have not seen evidence that Russian authorities have changed practices to comply with these requirements. We assume that the Chinese research icebreaker that arrived in Murmansk last week uses heavy fuel oil.
• An oil spill resulting from a wreck, collision, or grounding would cause an environmental catastrophe. There are no methods or equipment that can clean up the oil in an acceptable manner.

Positive Contributions to the Russian Economy

Increased traffic on the Northern Sea Route will make a positive contribution to the Russian economy, making it easier for Russia to finance the war in Ukraine. Increased trade and transport also strengthen the strategic and security importance of Russian-Arctic areas, which will lead to increased military activity in the region.

Bellona urges the Norwegian Prime Minister to clearly convey to China’s leadership that transport on the Northern Sea Route is neither desirable nor sustainable, and that Kirkenes is not a suitable hub for transport along the Siberian coast. Instead, the Prime Minister should invite China, which has held observer status in the Arctic Council since 2013, to contribute to protecting the Arctic marine environment. This, in itself, is an obligation to assist better protection and insight into the Arctic environment.

Chinese authorities should also be asked to explain the content and results of recent Chinese research expeditions along the Northern Sea Route.

Important Decisions for the Norwegian Government

The Norwegian government has many important decisions to make regarding the future development of Northern Norway in terms of value creation, security, and the Arctic environment. Let it be a shared signal from Norwegian authorities that stopping the growth of the Northern Sea Route is the foundation for all future decisions concerning Northern Norway and the Arctic. This is a message that aligns with NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg’s strong call for Chinese authorities to stop contributing to Vladimir Putin’s war economy.”

The Prime Minister’s office informed NRK over the weekend that the Northeast Passage is not a topic during Støre’s visit.

“The Prime Minister will discuss a range of topics during his visit to China. Particularly important are cooperation on global issues such as climate and green transition. Additionally, Russia’s war in Ukraine will be a key topic. The Prime Minister will also raise questions about human rights,” writes the Prime Minister’s office in an email to NRK.