Coking coal, oil, fertilizers and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) have been identified as the most viable commodities which could be transported through the proposed Chennai-Vladivostok Shipping route, or the Eastern Maritime Corridor, a statement by India's ports and shipping ministry said on Tuesday.
Indian ports and shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal participated in a session on the "operationalization of Eastern Maritime Corridor (EMC)" at the 8th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok.
“The operationalisation of Eastern Maritime Corridor will usher a new era of trade relationship between India and Russia,” the Indian minister stated in the session.
Sonowal, who is on a five-day official visit to Russia this week, underlined that the Indian teams' visit to Vladivostok, Vostochny, Nakhodka and Kozmino for the early operationalizing of the EMC was particularly helpful.
The Indian minister also extended an invitation to the Russian side to participate in a workshop in November, geared towards "smooth and swift operationalizing" of the shipping route.
The session at the EEF was also attended by Deputy Minister of Energy Minister Sergey Mochalnikov and Ministry of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov.
The Memorandum of Intent (MoI) to develop the Chennai-Vladivostok shipping lane was signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin at the EEF in 2019.
Chennai-Vladivostok Shipping Route to Reduce Transit Times
The Indian statement said that 5,600 nautical miles-long Chennai-Vladivostok shipping route would reduce shipping time between India and Russia by 16 days, taking around 24 days to transit between Chennai and Vladivostok through Indian and Pacific Oceans.
A larger container ship travelling at a relatively higher speed of 20-25 knots would be able to traverse the same distance in 10-12 days, it said.
The current route between India and Russia involves a shipping lane between Mumbai and St Petersburg, which takes around 35-40 days.