Tag: Northern Sea Route

A documentary discussing the impacts of shipping traffic on the Arctic Ocean was shown yesterday in the European Parliament. On the occasion, ECSA which participated in a roundtable discussion after the screening of the film, highlighted how Polar Code will protect the environment of the Arctic

China COSCO Shipping Corporation has revealed its plans to send more cargo vessels on Arctic voyages through the Northeast Passage. The company has already send its first freighter to follow Arctic route while has scheduled two more to travel in separate voyages during August.

GAC Russia has teamed up with the Far East Development Fund to address the challenges faced by international shipping companies transiting the Northern Sea Route (NSR), and to make this transport corridor more attractive to ship and cargo owners.

A new report conducted concludes that major opportunities for the maritime sector exist if the ice cover on the Arctic Ocean continues to decline. The sector of dry bulk and offshoring are currently the sectors with the largest potential as the Arctic hosts and abundance of the natural resource.

  According to National Snow & Ice Data Center (NSIDC) Arctic sea ice extent is well below average for this time of year, although ice has persisted in Baffin Bay and Hudson Bay. The Northern Sea Route appears to be mostly open, except for a narrow section along the Taymyr Peninsula. The Northwest Passage is still clogged with ice. Antarctic sea ice extent remains high, but the growth rate has slowed and extent is now closer to its long-term average for this time of year. July 2015 average ice extent was 8.77 million square kilometers (3.38 million square miles), the 8th lowest July extent in the satellite record. This is 920,000 square kilometers (355,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average for the month. While Arctic sea ice retreated at near average rates during the month of June, the pace of ice loss quickened in July such that the extent at the end of the month was within 550,000 square kilometers (212,000 square miles) of the extent recorded on the same date in 2012, and is now tracking below 2013 and 2014. Ice extent was at below average levels within the Kara, Barents, Chukchi, East Siberian, and Laptev seas, ...

  Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has signed off on a comprehensive project that will further the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR), the press center of RF Government informed.  NSR is the shortest route connecting Europe with the Far East, with the Asia-Pacific region, with the western part of North America. According to the Deputy Head of the Cabinet Arkadiy Dvorkovich, Russia issues around 600 permits annually to transport cargo via the route, with around 4 million tons of cargo delivered each year. However, Russia wants to transport much more cargo than that. “The potential estimated for the next 15 years – the time frame of the new comprehensive plan – is more than 80 million tons, that’s a twenty times increase in the volume of cargo,” said Mr. Dvorkovich. The prime minister noted that it will exceed the volume of traffic that existed during the Soviet era. “This goal should be mandatory,” Mr. Medvedev said. According to Mr. Dvorkovich, all the necessary regulatory framework for the project has already been formed. He said the project includes six major components, such as navigation and hydrographic support. In addition, there is no fully functioning system to regulate maritime traffic and ensure the protection of ...

  A study issued by CPB outlines the effects of the economic shock associated with the opening of the Northern Sea Route  A consequence of melting Arctic ice caps is the commercial viability of the Northern Sea Route, connecting North-East Asia with North-Western Europe. This will represent a sizeable reduction in shipping distances and a decrease in the average transportation days by around one-third compared to the currently used Southern Sea Route. CPB study on the'' Melting Caps and the Economic Impact of Opening the Northern Sea Route'' examines the economic impact  in a multi-sector model with intermediate linkages. This includes a remarkable shift of bilateral trade flows between Asia and Europe, diversion of trade within Europe, heavy shipping traffic in the Arctic, and a substantial drop in traffic through Suez. These global trade changes are reflected in real income and welfare effects for the countries involved. The estimated redirection of trade has also major geopolitical implications: the reorganisation of global supply chains within Europe and between Europe and Asia, and the highlighted political interest and environmental pressure on the Arctic. The commercial use of the Northern Sea Route –if ultimately made possible by further melting of the Arctic icecap– ...

Northern Sea Route traffic in 2014

The Northern Sea Route (herein after referred to as “NSR”) is a strategic and important sea route. Its importance has been highlighted by many in the past and it still attracts the attention of both the shipowners and governments. There have been conducted a significant number of studies on the NSR, most of which highlight its utmost importance for commercial shipping and call for more detailed legal regulation. However, the majority of writings are focused on jurisdictional issues, surrounding NSR, rights of coastal states, etc. For this reason, we have prepared an overview of Russian legislation and emerging case law on Northern Sea Route. The case law is entirely focused on the issues of passage through NSR and is based on decisions of Russian commercial courts, excluding maritime arbitration courts. Statutory requirements for passage through NSR The legislation on NSR in Russia consists of three main statutes. It is the Act No. 132- FZ, amending some legislative acts of Russian Federation in the part of state regulation of merchant shipping in NSR (hereinafter referred to as Northern Sea Route Act 2012), Merchant Shipping Code, which has been amended by Northern Sea Route Act in July 28 2012, as to include ...

Following the closing of the Northeastern Passage of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) on October 1st, the Global Ice Center at Weathernews Inc. looks back at the opening period this year. Ice in the Arctic Sea continues on a trend of recession since the turn of the century. For the fifth year in a row, Russia’s Northeastern passage fully opened from late August, staying open for six-weeks. This summer saw a record number of applications for permission to sail the NSR. Meanwhile, ice remaining in the Canadian archipelago prevented the Northwestern passage from becoming transitable for the first time in five years.                Number of days the NSR has stayed fully open over the past five years Northeastern Passage Open for Fifth Consecutive Year While Northwestern Passage Remains Closed The lowest area of ice observed by the Global Ice Center (GIC) at Weathernews this summer was 4.8 million km2, which is the sixth smallest area in recorded history. (fig. 1) Different trends can be seen when comparing the Northeastern and Northwestern passages in the summer of 2014. Ice in the Northeastern passage began to melt from late May, opening fully from August 21st to October ...