After Gorbachev's 1987 speech, regulations for
Proof of indemnity for possible damage li-
foreign use of the NSR and a framework for ad-
ability (mainly pollution),
ministering them needed to be developed, proto-
That vessels follow the directives of the
cols for escorting foreign ships had to be estab-
MOHQ or face removal from the route.
lished, navigation guides and maps had to be
declassified and made available, and so forth. The
The regulations, in effect, grant full authority to
Russians officially opened the route to foreign use
the MOHQ to conduct all NSR shipping as field
in July of 1991.
conditions warrant.
Three additional ANSR publications reportedly
elaborate further on the rules and procedures. Ac-
Management of
cording to Mikhailichenko and Ushakov (1993),
field operations
Actual operations, including scheduling, route
these are:
assignment, navigational support, pilotage, and
so forth, are controlled by two marine operations
Requirements for the Design, Equipment, and
headquarters (MOHQs). Their areas of authority
Supply of Vessels Navigating the Northern Sea
are divided at longitude 125E. Ships and ship-
Route,
ments originating at the western end of the route
Rates Charged for Escorting Foreign-Flag Ves-
are directed by the MOHQ located at Dikson on
sels Through the NSR,
the Kara Sea coast. The formerly state-owned
Guide to Navigation Through the Northern Sea
Murmansk Shipping Company (MSC) runs the
Route.
Dikson MOHQ. Contractual arrangements for ply-
ing the route in this direction must be made in
The first publication, in Russian (an unofficial
advance with MSC's administrative offices in
translation can be found in Mulherin et al. 1994),
Murmansk. For traffic originating at the eastern
details such requirements as double hulls, steel
end, the corresponding authority is the Far East-
plating thickness, powerplant size, and propeller
ern Shipping Company (FESCO). FESCO's admin-
design. Other requirements for foreign vessels in-
istrative offices and MOHQ are located in Vladi-
clude a 30-day supply of fuel, a 60-day supply of
vostok and the East Siberian Sea port of Pevek,
food, and a water-distilling plant aboard for drink-
respectively. The staffs at the MOHQs are com-
ing water. In 1993, Mikhailichenko* stated that the
posed of personnel skilled in all aspects of in-ice
second document ("Rates Charged ...") was not
navigation, including ship captains, reconnaissance
yet published.
aircraft and ice pilots, and weather and ice fore-
Mikhailichenko and Ushakov (1993) stated that
casters. In addition, these are centers for search
the third publication, "Guide to Navigation ...",
and rescue, emergency ship repairs, and the en-
was slated for release by July 1992. However, its
forcement of safety and pollution-prevention
publication has been seriously delayed as a result
measures.
of the country's socioeconomic difficulties. In De-
cember 1993, Maliavko† reported that the guide
was only in draft form and would be released by
Regulations for passage
the Russian Head Department of Hydrography
The Regulations for Navigation on the Seaways of
sometime in 1995, in Russian. He translated its
the Northern Sea Route (Mulherin et al. 1994) were
main sections as follows:
formulated by the Head Department of Naviga-
tion and Oceanography under the USSR Ministry
Section 1:
General overview
of Defense. Adopted in July 1991, they comprise a
Section 2:
Hydrological/meteorological
21-page pamphlet in both Russian and English
description
that is quite widely available, as it has been re-
Sections 36: Navigation directions for the
printed in several conference proceedings and
various seas
trade publications. In short, the regulations require:
ANSR approval for passage,
Ship certification for ice worthiness and an
experienced Master. If the MOHQ deter-
* V. Mikhailichenko, 1993, Administration of the North-
mines that his level of experience is inade-
ern Sea Route, personal communication.
quate, it may assign an ice pilot to the ves-
† M. Maliavko, 1993, HydroCon, Ltd., St. Petersburg,
sel for all or part of the voyage,
Russia, personal communication.
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