Maritime connectivity between India and Russia: The Chennai-Vladivostok Corridor

The India-Russia partnership has recently garnered a lot of media attention in the wake of US President Donald Trump's putting this partnership as one of the primary reasons for imposing high tariffs on India.

- Dr. Indrani Talukdar

Moreover, the significant meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China has ignited a new dynamism into the time-tested relationship. The India-Russia relationship is strategic and encompasses cooperation in some very important sectors, including connectivity projects. In this context, it is imperative to look into one of the most visionary and consequential maritime connectivity projects of mutual interest, namely the Chennai-Vladivostok Corridor.

A Strategic Project of Mutual Interest

The Chennai-Vladivostok Corridor, signed in 2019 with the intent and common desire to develop merchant shipping between India and Russia, has been functional since 2024. The cargo traffic carrying coal, crude oil, liquefied natural gas, fertilisers, machine parts, and textiles flowing through the corridor has already increased. This route, which connects India's East Coast, specifically the Chennai Port, with the Vladivostok Port in Russia's Far East, reduces shipping distance and transit time, approximately from 40 to 24 days, offering significant time and cost savings for exporters, compared to the traditional Suez Canal route.

The project is not merely a technical solution to logistical inefficiencies; it is emblematic of a broader reorientation in bilateral relations. For India, it is an opportunity to diversify import sources and secure critical energy and raw material supplies from the resource-rich Russian Far East. For Russia, the corridor offers a long-awaited avenue to capitalise on the economic potential of its Far Eastern territories, a region that needs development and growth, especially with the growing influence of China.