INSROP was a five-year multidisciplinary and multilateral research programme, the main phase of which commenced in June 1993. The three principal cooperating partners were Central Marine Research & Design Institute (CNIIMF), Petersburg, Russia; Ship and Ocean Foundation (SOF), Tokyo, Japan; and Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI), Lysaker, Norway.The aim of INSROP was to build up a scientific knowledge base on possibilities for, and consequences of, commercial navigation along the Northem Sea Route. The purpose of this knowledge base is to provide a foundation for long-term planning and rational decision-making by Russian and non-Russian public authorities and private interests regarding the use of the Northem Sea Route (NSR) for transit and regional development. The resulting database is organized as a geographical information system (GIS).