The Chennai-Vladivostok Maritime Corridor (CVMC), also known as the Eastern Maritime Corridor (EMC), is a strategically significant sea route concept aimed at enhancing bilateral trade between India and Russia. The corridor covers approximately 5,600 nautical miles (or 10,300 km) and links the port of Chennai on India's east coast with Vladivostok in Russia's Far East.
The concept originated in September 2019 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a Memorandum of Intent (MoI) in Vladivostok at the Eastern Economic Forum. The primary problem it solves is the lengthy transit time and distance of the traditional route from Mumbai to Saint Petersburg via the Suez Canal, which is about 3,000 nautical miles longer. The CVMC mechanism reduces cargo transport time from approximately 40 days to 24 days, a reduction of about 40%.
The corridor became operational in November 2024, an announcement made by the Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal. It works by providing a direct sea link, passing through the South China Sea, which facilitates the transport of commodities such as crude oil, liquefied natural gas, fertilisers, machine parts, and textiles. Key Indian ports like Visakhapatnam and Paradip are also connected to the route.
The CVMC is closely connected to India's Act Far East Policy and is a tangible expression of the Indo-Russian 'Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership'. A significant recent development is the plan to link the corridor to the Northern Sea Route (NSR), with India planning to send a pilot vessel along the Arctic route in 2027. Since its operationalization, the cargo volume on the CVMC has seen a 70% jump, and there are proposals to include intermediate stops like Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia.