Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal met with A.O. Chekunkov, the Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic in Vladivostok, Russia.
- Both the leaders discussed possibility of usage of new transport corridors like the Northern Sea Route (NSR) as well as the Eastern Maritime Corridor (EMC) between Vladivostok and Chennai.
Eastern Maritime Corridor (EMC)
- This proposed sea route between Chennai and Vladivostok is located on the Golden Horn Bay north of North Korea and a short distance from Russia’s border with China.
- Vladivostok is the largest port on Russia’s Pacific coast.
- The Chennai-Vladivostok sea route will cover a distance of about 5,600 nautical miles.
- The corridor will allow India to have a presence in the South China Sea through a trade route that is primarily aimed at the speedy transportation of coking coal.
Northern Sea Route
- The Northern Sea Route runs along Russia’s northern coastline and is the shortest shipping route between East Asia and Europe.
- It stretches across 13,000 km, compared to the 21,000 km covered by the Suez Canal route.
- Murmansk is the beginning point of the Northern Sea Route (NSR), is witnessing the rising trend of Indian involvement in cargo traffic.
