The Northern Sea Route will provide global trade with the necessary transport solutions – Sechin

The conflict in the Middle East has become a prerequisite for a global crisis, and other "bottlenecks" of global logistics may be threatened, said Igor Sechin, Executive Secretary of the Commission under the President of the Russian Federation for Strategic Development of the Fuel and Energy Sector and Environmental Security, at the Energy Panel during the XXIX St. Petersburg Economic Forum.

"The current development of the conflict in the Middle East has become a prerequisite for a global crisis. Besides oil and gas, a significant volume of world exports of other goods, for example, fertilizers, passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Supply disruptions, as well as the lack of strategic reserves in these markets, increase the risk of a global food crisis," he noted during his presentation of the report "The Beginning of the End or the End of the Beginning: What’s left at the Bottom of Pandora's Box."

Sechin drew attention to the fact that in just the first four months of this year, prices for fertilizers soared by almost 60%, which cannot but cause a jump in food prices in the next six months. He also noted that the consequences are universal in nature, but India, the countries of Africa, and Southeast Asia turn out to be the most vulnerable.

"It is obvious that now other 'bottlenecks' of global logistics may also be under threat: the Straits of Malacca, Bab-el-Mandeb, and Gibraltar, the Cape of Good Hope, the Danish and Turkish straits, the Suez and Panama canals, which are of key importance not only for global energy (almost the entire volume of global oil production passes through them), but also for all global trade," he warned.

According to Sechin, the functioning of the Northern Sea Route can provide global trade with the necessary transport solutions, and the use of this route allows for reducing cargo delivery times to partners by one and a half to two times and lowering costs by 20–30%.

"We welcome the attempts of some countries to create bypass routes, but from the point of view of the needs of global trade, a special role belongs to the Arctic," emphasized Sechin. He noted that in these conditions, not only its significance as a resource base becomes strategic, but, above all, as a reliable logistics route.

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Rosneft Oil Company
June 6, 2026