Russia wants to roughly quadruple shipping traffic on the North-East Passage via the Arctic Ocean from the 36 million tons moved last year to as much as 150 million tons, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday at an economic meeting. “In the future, transport could increase to 150 million tons,” Putin told the 27th St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). The 36 million tons that moved last year consisted of freight transported on the northern sea route between Europe and Asia. Russia is expanding the sea route along its northern coast and establishing overland transport routes to …