The Northeast Passage (abbreviated as NEP) is an Arctic ocean shipping route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, traversing the Arctic following Russia's and Norway's coasts. The NEP traverses (from West to East) the Barents Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea, and Chukchi Sea, and it includes the Northern Sea Route (NSR). The Northern Sea Route is a portion of the NEP; it is defined in Russian law and does not include the Barents sea and therefore does not reach the Atlantic ocean. However, since the NSR has a significant overlap over the majority of the NEP, sometimes the NSR term has been used to refer to the entirety of the Northeast Passage.