Record number for Northern Sea Route
This year’s season on the Northern Sea Route was special in many ways. Not only was the route accessible about one month longer than usual, but is also had the highest number ever of vessels in transit from Murmansk to another country.
According to operator of the nuclear icebreaker fleet Rosatomflot, 34 vessels have sailed the whole Northern Sea Route this year. The total cargo transported on the route is 820 000 tons. By comparison, in 2010 only four vessels used the route for transit to another country, and the total amount of cargo was 111 000 tons, Rosatomflot reports, according to RIA Novosti.
15 of the 34 vessels transported liquid cargo (682 000 tons), three carried bulk (110 000 tons), four refrigerator ships transported salmon (27 500), two vessels transported general cargo and ten vessels sailed in ballast.
2011 has been a years of records on the Northern Sea Route. The 162 000 dwt “Vladimir Tikhonov” became the first super tanker to sail the route, while the 75 600 dwt “Sanko Odyssey” became the largest ever bulk carrier to sail the NSR.
The tanker Belgium owned “Perseverance” opened the sailing season on June 29, and later became the first larger tanker to sail the NSR in the second half of November, As BarentsObserver reported. But it was not the last – the 5000 dwt tanker “Vestpils” is currently on its way to the port of Iturup on the Kuril Islands, after being escorted along the NSR by the nuclear-powered icebreaker “Rossiya“.
Source: Barents Observer
