The world's largest port beyond the Arctic Circle in Murmansk, as well as the adjacent logistics hubs of the Russian Federation, have completely ceased operations due to a critical failure in the power system. As of January 31, ship loading and port terminal operations are blocked due to the collapse of outdated power poles, which left strategically important facilities on Russia's Arctic coast without power. This was reported by Bloomberg, writes UNN.
Details
According to Bloomberg, the energy collapse in Murmansk and Severomorsk has been ongoing for more than a week, leading to a complete halt in cargo transshipment. Even warships of the Russian Northern Fleet were forced to switch to autonomous power. Due to the lack of electricity, cranes, navigation systems, and terminals for bulk cargo are not working.
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The situation is exacerbated by extreme frosts down to –28°C, which make it impossible to quickly repair power lines that were put into operation back in the 1960s.
Economic Consequences and Sanctions Exhaustion
The ports of Murmansk are key for Russian exports of coal, fertilizers, and metals, as well as part of the strategic Northern Sea Route. The cessation of operations in this region has already led to queues of tankers and dry cargo ships that cannot be loaded. Analysts emphasize that this incident is a direct consequence of chronic underfunding of civilian infrastructure: instead of updating power grids in strategic regions, the Kremlin is directing resources to waging war, which makes Russia's Arctic logistics vulnerable even to ordinary weather conditions.