Official Russian policy is also to develop NSR as an international waterway. It is unclear what levels of state investment will be made to attain this goal, if realistic at all. Many modern icebreaking commercial carriers can operate independently without icebreaker escort in convoy. But it seems that the potential for expanded operation of such is not fully appreciated in Russian thinking about the of NSR. How will these ships be accommodated along the NSR and how will these independent ship operations influence the need for icebreakers and the size of the Russian icebreaker fleet a fleet that is built around the ice escort and convoy system developed during the Soviet era?