China becomes main foreign partner for Russia's Northern Sea Route

China has become the primary foreign partner for shipments along Russia's Northern Sea Route (NSR), driving growth in both total cargo volumes and transit traffic. The most significant increase is seen in container shipping. Since 2023, the number of voyages along the NSR has more than tripled, while physical cargo volume grew 2.6 times to reach 400,000 tons. Rosatom expects these indicators to continue rising through 2026. Ilya Gusev, risk manager: High concentration of cargo flow on one key partner creates a dependency for the route on the economic activity and logistics strategies of that specific country.