Problems and prospects for the development of the Northern Sea route: its port facilities’ current state from a Western sector perspective

In the twenty-first century, the Arctic is the latest contested region of global significance. The interests of foreign states encompass not only oil and gas production in the Arctic, but also the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR). The NSR has the status of a major transport artery in the Arctic sector of Russia and is seen as a transcontinental Euro-Asian maritime transport corridor. The study examines the importance of ports in the Arctic basin in the Northern Sea Route system. The volume of traffic along the NSR from 2011 to 2020 is analyzed. The characteristic of the key NSR ports in the aspect of cargo transshipment and access to the World Ocean is given. Based on the classification and analysis of statistical data, the authors examine the characteristics and role of Western Russian ports in the Arctic basin, as well as their current state. The conclusion is substantiated that the development of NSR is a priority direction of the Russian economy in the aspect of increasing the volume of export and cargo turnover of Russian ports in times