Northern Sea Route

Russian Arctic shipping corridor running along the Siberian coast from the Kara Gate at the northern tip of Novaya Zemlya to the Bering Strait. Transits are regulated by the NSR Administration (Glavsevmorput) under Russian Federation Federal Law 132-FZ (2012); a permit is required and tariffs depend on vessel size, ice class, and seasonal pilotage. The route shortens an Asia-to-Europe passage by roughly 4,000 nautical miles compared with the Suez routing but is constrained by ice extent, lack of port-of-refuge infrastructure, and Polar Code compliance for the operating period.