# Comparative Studies of Major Sea Routes
## 1 Introduction
The main disadvantages of this sea route are the hydrometerological conditions in the southern parts of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans (around the southern Horn of Africa), where storms often occur and extremely large waves are encountered, which make it difficult for ships to navigate, often requiring a reduction in the speed of sailing ships, and due to the large swaying of ships, increases ship safety and cargo damage risks. Due to the increased distances between the coastal ports of Southeast Asia and Europe and the East American continent (compared to sailing through the Suez Canal), the time of goods transportation and the cost of transportation increase [15]. The Northern Sea route has only one advantage because the sailing distance between ports in Southeast Asia (Shanghai, Nimbo, Buasan, etc.) and Western Europe (Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, etc.) is shorter compared to the sea routes through the Suez Canal, Panama Canal, or around the African continent [15]. The Northern Sea and Northwestern Sea routes were highly promoted as early as a decade ago, but without theoretical and small practical tests, especially in container shipping, nothing has been achieved [16; 17]. At the same time, the Northern Sea route has many disadvantages: ships sailing on this sea route must have an ice class, and usually a reinforced ice class; the help of an icebreaker must be used, which increases the cost of transporting goods; the sailing speed of ships from the Bering Strait to the gateway to the Kara Sea with or without icebreaker escort is relatively low, which significantly increases the sailing time and at the same time the advantage of sailing distance becomes insignificant compared to the sea route through the Suez Canal, and during the winter period (from November until May) sailing times of ships become similar; the main waterway (from the Sea of Japan to the Barents Sea) has practically no ports and even minimal service (if necessary); and there are limited ship parameters (can sail only up to PANAMAX-type ships). In this way, the assessment of sea routes and a convenient, multi-factorial, and, at the same time, easily applicable methodology are very important from both a theoretical and practical point of view, and this article is focused on the creation of such a methodology. The main factors that are taken into account when comparing sea routes are the following: transportation costs, transportation time, possible maximum ship draft, request of transportation energy (fuel), ideal (best) seaway factors, correlation coefficients, factor weight coefficients, and other possible factors. Conducted theoretical and experimental research, especially the navigation of ships on the Northern Sea route, allow us to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of different sea routes and at the same time search for optimal solutions for transporting goods between very important economic regions, which is the innovativeness and novelty of this article. The novelty and innovation of this paper is the creation of a Benchmark index of major sea routes and its application to the assessment of sea routes, as well as a broader and more accurate assessment of individual sea routes, especially the Northern Sea route. The novelty of the comparative index assessment methodology is based on technical, economic, shipping safety, and environmental impact factors, which makes it, using the Benchmark index, a universal means of assessing sea routes. The main factors mentioned above, as well as additional factors such as technical service, ship supply capabilities, and other factors, are taken into account for the Benchmark index calculations. The developed methodology can be used to evaluate other sea routes, adapting it to specific conditions.