Opinion: From Science to Strategy, India’s Arctic ambitions take shape
India’s pact with Norway to build its first indigenous Polar Research Vessel marks a major strategic pivot in its Arctic engagement, signalling that this initiative is more than just a scientific venture
By Dr Vijay Sakhuja, Dr Anudeep Gujjeti
On June 2, on the sidelines of the Nor-Shipping Expo-2025 in Oslo, Norway, India quietly launched a bold new chapter in its maritime story. Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers signed a memorandum of understanding with Norway’s Kongsberg to design and build India’s first indigenous Polar Research Vessel (PRV).
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Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal hailed the PRV project as a “beacon of hope and progress,” signalling India’s commitment to polar science, innovation, and shipbuilding. For a country that historically chartered foreign ice-class vessels for its polar expeditions, this marked a decisive shift. It underscores that this initiative is more than a scientific venture — it’s a strategic statement of India’s maritime ambition entering a new phase.
Why Arctic Matters
Climate change is dramatically reconfiguring the Arctic, turning a once-inaccessible landscape into a navigable ocean. Warming temperatures have thinned the sea ice, and each summer now sees previously frozen passages open up. Since 2007, even the famous Northwest Passage and Russia’s Northern Sea Route (NSR) have been temporarily ice-free during late summers. The prospect of ice-free Arctic sea lanes is reshaping global trade calculus. A trans-Arctic voyage can shave off up to 9,000 km, roughly 40% of the distance, from East Asia-Europe shipping routes compared to the Suez Canal.
The melting Arctic is thus unlocking a ‘blue ocean’ of economic potential – from faster shipping to access to untapped fisheries and minerals. Though it is a consequence of climate change and an environmental tragedy, it is also the stage for a 21st-century geopolitical scramble.
The United States has just three Arctic-ready icebreakers in service while Russia has a fleet of almost 50 vessels. This proves how underequipped the US is. In late 2024, under the Biden administration, Washington joined Ottawa and Helsinki in a landmark Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE) Pact, to co-develop “world-class Arctic and polar icebreakers”.
President Donald Trump has made shipbuilding a key administrative goal. Interestingly, when it comes to boosting shipbuilding and expanding the US commercial vessel fleet, Democrats and Republicans are on same the boat, trying to pass the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security for America Act. Canada’s Davie Shipbuilding too in talks to buy a Texas ship-repair facility and start building Arctic-ready vessels for the US government. It reflects the growing US concern over great-power competition in the Arctic.
China Sails In
No actor has watched the opening of the Arctic more intently than China. For China, the Northern Sea Route (NSR) is emerging as a strategic maritime corridor with immense geoeconomic value. Beijing sees the NSR as a critical alternative shipping lane that can significantly reduce transit time to Europe.
A voyage from Dalian to Rotterdam via the Arctic passage takes approximately 33 days which is 15 days shorter than the traditional Suez Canal route. In 2024, the NSR handled a record cargo volume of nearly 38 million tonnes, up from 35 million tonnes the previous year, highlighting its growing relevance for global trade. Notably, around 95 per cent of this traffic was eastbound from Russia to China, comprising mainly bulk commodities, while China’s westbound exports, predominantly containerised cargo, made up about 4 per cent.
Beijing calls itself a ‘Near-Arctic State’ and has woven the Arctic Ocean into its grand Belt and Road Initiative as a ‘Polar Silk Road’. President Xi Jinping signalled these ambitions early in 2014 when he declared China’s goal to become a “major polar power” as a component of its rise as a great maritime nation.
The region also holds an estimated 13 per cent of the world’s undiscovered oil and 30 per cent of gas, along with rich fisheries and rare minerals. Chinese firms have already invested in Russia’s Arctic LNG projects and mining ventures.
In 2024, China dispatched three icebreaking research vessels into the Arctic simultaneously, the first time it ever operated such a fleet in the high north. The voyages of Xuelong 2, Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di and the new Ji Di icebreaker marked Beijing’s presence in the Arctic seas. Beijing has built these ships at impressive speed. Its first home-built heavy icebreaker, Xuelong 2, was finished in under three years. Beyond ships, China is expanding Arctic diplomacy (it maintains the largest embassy in Iceland) and research footholds (research stations in Svalbard, Iceland and planned in Greenland) to legitimise its role. All this occurs in partnership with a willing Russia.
Maritime Corridor
Navigable from July to November due to seasonal ice melt, the NSR, predominantly managed by Russia, is witnessing a surge in global interest. In May, Rosatom, the Russian state-run nuclear agency overseeing Arctic icebreaker operations, received 196 applications from foreign vessels seeking passage or support. The agency projects that foreign traffic through the NSR will rise by at least 50 per cent this year. This trend signals growing global confidence in the NSR’s viability as a seasonal trade route, especially amid disruptions along traditional sea lanes.
India’s Realpolitik Imperative
Against this backdrop, India’s Arctic engagement must evolve beyond the general confines of science and soft power. Until recently, New Delhi’s approach to the Arctic was largely symbolic, a scientific research station in Svalbard, periodic expeditions, and declarations about climate change. These are important, but insufficient.
The Arctic’s emerging strategic rivalry demands that India adopt a more hard-headed realpolitik approach. In practice, this means prioritising presence, partnerships, and capabilities over pure prestige or principled posturing.
The country’s Arctic Policy, released in 2022, was a first step toward a comprehensive vision (built on six pillars including science, climate, economic development, transportation, cooperation, and capacity building). It acknowledged that India’s stakes in the Arctic are rising, from climate impacts on monsoons to potential energy supplies. Crucially, the policy explicitly calls for India to “acquire a dedicated ice-class polar research vessel” and to build indigenous capabilities for such vessels. The 2025 PRV initiative with Norway is the result of that goal. However, strategy cannot stop at one ship or one document.
In the great game of the Arctic that is now unfolding, India cannot afford to stand on the sidelines. Its interests, from climate to commerce, are intertwined with the polar region, and its foreign policy principles of strategic autonomy and global equity compel it to seek a say in its governance.
The recent Oslo agreement for a Polar Research Vessel may seem like a small step, but it carries big implications and should fuel momentum heading into in the upcoming 3rd India-Nordic Summit. It shows that India is ready to move from mere observation to tangible participation. At the same time, India must remember that when the ice melts the race begins.
(Dr Vijay Sakhuja is Professor and Head, Center of Excellence for Geopolitics and International Studies [CEGIS], and Dr Anudeep Gujjeti is Assistant Professor, CEGIS, REVA University, Bengaluru, and Young Leader, Pacific Forum, USA)
