Chennai-Vladivostok
maritime corridor - ECONOMY
NEWS: India has activated
the Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor and is now plans to
connect at least two other east coast ports—Paradip and Vizag—with this
maritime corridor.
WHAT’S IN THE NEWS?
About the route
- The Chennai-Vladivostok sea route
(Eastern Maritime Corridor) will cover a distance of about 5,600
nautical miles (about 10,500 km).
- The Chennai-Vladivostok Maritime route connects
Chennai on India’s east coast with Vladivostok,
Russia’s eastern port city.
- Vladivostok is the end point of the Trans-Siberian
Railway, the fourth in terms of cargo turnover, and the first free
seaport of the Far East.
- The Vladivostok-Chennai route passes through
the Sea of Japanpast the Korean
peninsula, Taiwan and the Philippines in the South
China Sea, past Singapore and through the Strait of Malacca,
to emerge into the Bay of Bengal and then cuts across
through the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago to
Chennai.
- Alternative
to Red Sea: In
view of the current Red Sea crisis, and increased travel time,
which has also pushed up costs, the Vladivostok-Chennai maritime
corridor is seen as a possible alternative.
- The Red Sea route now takes
48 days or say, against which Vladivostok route will be 15 days max. The
Red Sea route accounts for 50 per cent of Indian exports and 30 per cent
of imports.
- Domestic companies use the Red Sea route
through the Suez Canal to trade with Europe, North American, Africa and
also Middle East.
Need for a New Route
- Limited
Trade Between India and Russia: One of the key reasons for the limited trade between India and
Russia, which has remained around USD 12-13 billion in recent years, is
the lack of efficient connectivity.
- Reduced
Transportation Time: The
proposed new route would significantly reduce transportation time to just
12 days, nearly one-third of the current time taken via the existing
popular route from St. Petersburg to Mumbai.
- Reduced
Costs: The new route is
expected to lower transportation costs by approximately 30%, making trade
between the two countries more cost-effective.
- Strategic
Location of Chennai Port: Chennai Port, located on the Bay of Bengal, serves as an ideal
gateway for trade with Southeast Asian nations such as Thailand, Vietnam,
and Indonesia, further boosting India's regional presence.
- Strategic
Importance of Vladivostok: The Port of Vladivostok in Russia offers access to the
resource-rich Far East region, opening up significant business
opportunities in sectors like energy, mining, an
Present route
- At present, the two countries are linked
through the traditional European route which passes
through Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Baltic Sea.
- Operationalised in 2000, the circuitous route
spans from the Nhava Sheva Port in Mumbai to the Port of St. Petersburg in
Russia and goods take an average of 40 days to cover the distance of 8,675
nautical miles or about 16,000 km.
Far East
- The Far East is the easternmost part of
Russia.
- The macro-region borders two oceans,
the Pacific and the Arctic, and five countries — China, Japan,
Mongolia, the United States and the DPRK.
- Located on the Golden Horn Bay north of
North Korea and a short distance from Russia’s border with China, the
region extracts 98 per cent of Russian diamonds, 50 per cent of Gold, 14
per cent of Tungsten, and 40 per cent of fish and seafood and has about
one-third of Russia’s coal reserves.