Legal regulation of transportation along the Northern Sea Route

Yusufova Darya Borisovna, Efimenko Sergey Vasilyevich

The Arctic and its natural resources, such as hydrocarbons, waterways and living marine resources, are increasingly valuable for commercial use in the modern world as a result of geopolitical, socio-economic, technological, industrial factors, as well as climate change processes. The Northern Sea Route (NSR) was first the "national transport route of the USSR", now the "historically established national transport communication line of the Russian Federation" as reflected in the historical Soviet, and now Russian legislation. This waterway plays a crucial role in opening up the Arctic to transportation and commercial opportunities. In recent years, the important role of the NSR in the Arctic paradigm has rapidly increased for international shipping, international trade, and the economy of many states. As the main Arctic sea artery for Russia, the NSR plays an increasingly important role not only for Russian national, geopolitical, strategic and commercial interests, but also for the international maritime industry and shipping, and the economy of international trade. The Russian Federation is one of the five Arctic coastal states along with Denmark, Canada, Norway, and the United States with maritime territories in the Arctic. Of these five, Russia is the largest territory and the richest natural resources, where under its sovereignty are marine zones characterized as vast water spaces (Russian Arctic Straits and seas), which, joined together, form a unique transport waterway - the Northern Sea Route. Russia, as the successor State of the Soviet Union, inherited certain rights and obligations in accordance with the principle of succession of States in international law, including the right to sovereignty over numerous territories and waters, including the NSR.

Keywords:Arctic, legal regulation, Northern Sea Route, Rules of navigation, coastal states, the water area of the NSR.