Russia is unable to service its ports in the Arctic, intelligence says
6.01.2026 - 13:48
Russia’s plans to transform the Northern Sea Route into a full-fledged transport artery are hampered by basic infrastructural inadequacies.
In the next five years alone, ports along the Northern Sea Route will require dredging totaling about 60 million cubic meters, the Foreign Intelligence Service reported.
Similar work is also needed in ports in other regions of Russia, which only multiplies the scale of the problem.
Previously, the Russian Federation systematically relied on foreign contractors who had the necessary fleet and technology for large-scale dredging, but sanctions have effectively blocked this channel. Russia has never created an alternative in the form of its own capacities: statements about the design and construction of dredgers at the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg remain statements.
Last year, Russia was able to dredge all the country’s ports on its own only at the level of approximately 2.2 million cubic meters – against the background of the declared needs, this is a marginal volume that does not change the situation systematically.
Theoretically, the Russian Federation is counting on China’s participation in the development of the northern port infrastructure. However, Beijing’s interests are fundamentally different: the PRC is interested in continuous transit along the entire route of the Arctic Sea, and not in the development of individual Russian ports as logistics hubs. This means that in the coming years, large ships will pass by without stopping.
Even if China agrees to join the dredging, it will determine where and in which ports it will take place. For Russia, this means a loss of control over spatial development, the inability to purposefully support individual regions and de facto dependence on external influence.
Taken together, the situation demonstrates a systemic gap between the Russian Federation’s declared Arctic ambitions and its real capabilities, the intelligence service summarized.
USM previously reported that the Russians cannot unload LNG from Arctic ports due to ice.
