Only few days after a Chinese bulk carrier destroyed two cables in the Baltic Sea in what appears as an act of sabotage, top officials from Beijing and Moscow sat down for their first meeting in a joint cooperation body for the Northern Sea Route.

"Although this is our first meeting in the Subcommission, we have already reached a series of agreements on safe shipping between our countries," Head of Rosatom Aleksei Likhachev said in an opening remark in the recent meeting. 

"Constructive interaction is being established also in other important fields of interest [and] I believe that we have laid a solid basis for the work of the subcommission," the leader of Russia's state nuclear power company added.

China's Minister of Transport Liu Wei expressed consent. "The sides have reached consensus on several important issues with regard to the upcoming joint work," he said, according to the press service of Rosatom.

The meeting the joint structure was held only few days after the incidents with the Yi Peng 3. The 250 meter long Chinese bulk carrier is believed to have damaged to underwater communications cables in the Baltic Sea. The police in the affected countries suspect sabotage.

In early October 2023, the Chinese-Russian ship Newnew Polar Bear was involved in a similar case. By dragging its anchor over the Balticconnector gas pipeline, as well as a communication cable, the underwater infrastructure was seriously damaged. The ship escaped into north Russian waters and later sailed the Northern Sea Route back to China. 

China and Russia are strengthening cooperation in Arctic shipping. During Vladimir Putin's visit to Beijing in 2023, the two sides agreed to establish a joint body on the development of the Northern Sea Route. The setup of the subcommission was formalised in August 2024.

It is Rosatom leader Aleksei Likhachev and China's Transport Minister Liu Wei that head the joint structure. Their meeting was held in St.Petersburg on the 26 November.

Despite high ambitions and lofty promises, the level of Chinese shipments on the Northern Sea Route remains on a low level. In the course of 2024, only eight Chinese-registered ships had permission to sail on the route, information from the Northern Sea Route Administration shows. 

Another 11 ships registered in Hong Kong sailed on the route. Among them were three container carriers owned and operated by the company Torgmoll.

It is Torgmoll that operates also the Newnew Polar Bear, the ship that is suspected of sabotage against the Balticconnector.

Torgmoll company is registered in China, but has strong connections with Russia. 

According to the company’s website, it is specialising on logistics between China and Europe, and has a strong interest in the development of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. The company is represented with a member in the Russian-Chinese Business Forum, and is headed by Yelena V. Maksimova.

Secretary in the new Chinese-Russian Subcommission is Rosatom's Vladimir Panov. According to the company's special adviser on the Northern Sea Route, issues related to safe shipping, increase in goods volumes and exchange of information about sea-ice and weather are on the agenda in the joint structure. 

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Sources: Barent Obs - DiplNet - Officials