Tag: Northern Sea Route

Filter By:

Filter

Warming Revives Dream of Sea Route in Russian Arctic

Global warming is shrinking the Arctic ice pack, opening new sea lanes Rounding the northernmost tip of Russia in his oceangoing tugboat this summer, Capt. Vladimir V. Bozanov saw plenty of walruses, some pods of beluga whales and in the distance a few icebergs.One thing Captain Bozanov did not encounter while towing an industrial barge 2,300 miles across the Arctic Ocean was solid ice blocking his path anywhere along the route. Ten years ago, he said, an ice-free passage, even at the peak of summer, was exceptionally rare.But environmental scientists say there is now no doubt that global warming is shrinking the Arctic ice pack, opening new sea lanes and making the few previously navigable routes near shore accessible more months of the year. And whatever the grim environmental repercussions of greenhouse gas, companies in Russia and other countries around the Arctic Ocean are mining that dark cloud's silver lining by finding new opportunities for commerce and trade.Oil companies might be the most likely beneficiaries, as the receding polar ice cap opens more of the sea floor to exploration. The oil giant Exxon Mobil recently signed a sweeping deal to drill in the Russian sector of the Arctic Ocean. But ...

Read more

Shipper touts Arctic route to China as cost saver

Northern Sea Route is seen as a way to cut voyage times and costs Danish shipping company Nordic Bulk Carriers said it has saved a third of the cost and nearly half the time in shipping goods to China by taking advantage of receding Arctic ice to sail north of Russia instead of via the Suez Canal.As the climate warms up and ice melts, many shipping companies are eyeing the Northern Sea Route as a way to cut voyage times and costs in the future."We see great potential in this," Nordic Bulk Carriers director Christian Bonfils told Reuters. "When we save 22 days on transportation, it is very, very good business for us."The company plans to make four to five such trips next summer, he said.On Aug. 30, its Sanko Odyssey, the world's biggest ice-classed bulk carrier, set out from the Russian port of Murmansk along the Northern Sea Route to arrive in China on Sept. 23 after 23 days at sea, which according to Bonfils is 22 days less than sailing through the Suez Canal.It was the second voyage by a commercial bulk carrier through the icy sea lane.Depending on the particular ports of a route, the distance to ...

Read more

Neste Oil sends tankers along Northern Sea Route

All ships operating along the route are ice-classed and fitted with equipment Two Neste-operated oil tankers successfully traversed the Northern Sea Route (NSR) between Murmansk and the Pacific Ocean in August and September this year.The first Neste tanker to transit the NSR was the 'Stena Poseidon', which carried a cargo to South Korea. She was followed by the 'Palva', which delivered a cargo to China.Neste said that its extensive maritime expertise, decades of experience in navigating in ice-covered waters and fleet of ice-strengthened ships, one of the largest in the world, give the company a clear edge in shipping along this route."Neste Oil has a long history of taking on the challenges of the Northeast Passage," says Niko Ristikankare, vice president of the company's shipping & terminals unit."The 'Uikku' was the first Western commercial vessel to traverse the route back in 1997. Thanks to our Arctic expertise and our modern fleet, we are excellently placed to handle commercial operations along the Northeast Passage."The Russian authorities require that all ships operating along the route are ice-classed and fitted with additional equipment, such as radios approved for use in Arctic areas and a spare propeller blade.Bunkers and provisions sufficient for 30 days ...

Read more

Setting new records on the Northern Sea Route

This year has been a record as well as an ice breaker in the Russian Arctic This year has been a record as well as an ice breaker in the Russian Arctic. On departing Murmansk at the end of June with a cargo of 70,000 tonnes of condensate for the eastbound voyage to China, the Panamax product tanker Perseverance became the earliest commercial vessel in the season to make a transit of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) along Russia's Arctic coast.Several weeks later, in late July, STI Heritage, a tanker similar to Perseverance, made the fastest ever NSR passage by a cargo ship, sailing that part of her overall voyage from Murmansk to Map Ta Phut in Thailand in just eight days. She was carrying 61,000 tonnes of condensate.On 20 August 2011 another tanker departed Murmansk eastbound with a cargo of condensate en route to another record. Carrying 120,000 tonnes of the bulk liquid, Vladimir Tikhonov became the first Suezmax tanker and the largest commercial ship to sail the route.The Vladimir Tikhonov voyage was a much slower one than the two earlier tanker transits as it was used to study the potential for transporting large consignments of Arctic oil and ...

Read more

Scorpio tanker completes Northern Sea Route voyage

Northern Sea Route connects the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean via the Russian arctic coast A tanker managed by Scorpio Ship Management s.a.m. recently completed a voyage from Vitino, Russia to Map Ta Phut, Thailand, via the Northern Sea Route (NSR) -- with the assistance of nuclear powered icebreakers. This is the first such voyage for a vessel managed by SSM.The NSR, which connects the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean via the Russian arctic coast, is only open occasionally for international commercial shipping and is navigable with the assistance of icebreakers from mid-summer to mid-autumn. In addition to gaining considerable savings in distance and fuel, by using the NSRP ships avoid both Suez Canal tolls and the risks of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean region.The Scorpio-managed ship, STI Heritage is a 73,956 dwt ice class 1A Panamax tanker. It operates in the Scorpio Panamax Tanker Pool and is registered in the Marshall Islands and ABS classed. Owned by Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE: STNG), it is on time charter to Gard Shipping AS. She performed the NSR voyage under a charter to Novatek Gas and Power.The planning for the voyage included a comprehensive risk assessment of the ...

Read more

Arctic shipping routes open as polar ice-cover shrinks

Satellite measurements confirme another year of below-average ice cover Satellite measurements have confirmed another year of below-average ice cover in the Arctic resulting in two major shipping routes have opened in the Arctic Ocean.In 2008 satellites saw that the Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea Route were open simultaneously for the first time since satellite measurements began in the 1970s - and now it has happened again.While the Northern Sea Route above Russia (also known as the Northeast Passage) has been open to shipping traffic since mid-August, recent satellite data show that the most direct course in the Northwest Passage now appears to be navigable as well.Located in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the Northwest Passage can be a short cut for shipping between Europe and Asia - but with the opening of the sea route comes the potential for both sovereignty claims and marine species migration across the Arctic Ocean.In 2007, Arctic sea ice hit a record low since satellite measurements began nearly 30 years before. That same year, the historically impassable Northwest Passage opened for the first time.Unusual weather contributed to 2007's record ice loss: skies opened over the central Arctic Ocean and wind patterns pushed warm air into ...

Read more

Japanese bulk carrier sets record on Northern Sea Route

The Northern Sea Route will see its third record in less than a month The Northern Sea Route will see its third record in less than a month when the largest ever bulk carrier to take the route leaves Murmansk next week. It is also the first time a Japanese shipping company sends a vessel through the Northeast Passage.Only a week after the largest tanker to sail through the Northeast Passage left Murmansk for Southeast Asia, the 75 600 dwt bulk carrier "Sanko Odyssey" is ready to make the same voyage, loaded with 72 000 tons of iron ore bound for China.The vessel is currently loading the iron ore - produced at Kovdor mining company on the Kola Peninsula - in Murmansk Port and is bound for departure in the end of August."Sanko Odyssey" is owned by the Japanese shipping company Sanko Line, and this is the first time a Japanese shipping company uses the Northern Sea Route, Vladimir Arutyunyan in Rosatomflot said to RIA Novosti. The vessel will be escorted by at least one nuclear-powered icebreaker through the passage.Earlier this summer, a speed record was set on the Northern Sea Route when the Panamax-class tanker "STI Heritage" loaded with ...

Read more

Suezmax tanker Vladimir Tikhonov starts her Arctic voyage along the Northern Sea Route

For the first time such a large Suezmax tanker is navigating along this route On 20 August 2011 the tanker Vladimir Tikhonov, owned by SCF Group (Sovcomflot), started her Arctic voyage from Murmansk along the seaways of the Northern Sea Route (NSR).The voyage marks the first time in the history of the NSR that such a large Suezmax tanker (more than 160,000 dwt, enhanced ice class 1A (Arc 4)) is navigating along this route.The tanker is laden with more than 120,000 tonnes of gas condensate, belonging to the Charterer Novatek. The cargo of hydrocarbons will be delivered from the port of Murmansk to a port of discharge in one of the countries of South-East Asia. The estimated length of the voyage is less than a month. The preparation for the voyage was undertaken in coordination with Novatek.SCF Group continues the series of Arctic voyages from the Atlantic to the Pacific along the Northern Sea Route. In August 2010 the Aframax tanker SCF Baltica, of more than 100,000 tonnesdwt, followed the same route and became the largest ship in history to navigate along the NSR.The present voyage is aimed at studying the potential for transporting the largest possible consignment of gas ...

Read more

Thawing Arctic opens up new shipping routes

An increasing amount of seaborne traffic is beginning to move on the Northern Sea Route Cold is the new hot in shipping circles as melting sea ice opens up prospects for trade between China and the west to move across the roof of the world.An increasing amount of seaborne traffic is beginning to move on the so-called Northern Sea Route which traverses the Siberian coast. There are also hopes of opening up more of the North West Passage above Canada.The attraction of the voyage is that it is one-third of the distance of more traditional routes through the Suez Canal. This means less carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions and less fuel. It also means less pirates.Attacks on ships off Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden have become so severe that some owners are already using longer sea routes around South Africa to avoid conflict.Christian Bonfils, the managing director of Nordic Barents operator Nordic Bulk Carriers, claims it will save him $180,000 in fuel costs. New Arctic voyages are starting all the time. Russian oil company, Novatek is currently carrying a trial shipment of 60,000 tonnes of oil products to China via northern Siberia on the vessel, Perseverance.Norilsk Nickel, the world's largest ...

Read more

The sailing season along the Northern Sea Route has started earlier than ever

Several ice-classed tankers are waiting in Kola Bay for the sailing season to begin Last week, the Transpetrol-controlled Panamax Perseverance sailed from Murmansk for China laden with 70,000 tonnes of condensate. She was escorted by the Russian nuclear powered icebreaker Yamal.The sailing season along the Northern Sea Route has started earlier than ever, as the Arctic Sea ice heads for another major melting, reported the newspaper Barents Observer.The tanker was chartered by the Russian oil company Novatek, according to Petroarctic, a network of suppliers for petroleum projects in the north.Perseverance is an ice-class 1A tanker and is expected to be in China around 20th July, which is almost half the time the vessel would have spent from Murmansk to China if sailing via the Suez Canal.Several other ice-classed tankers are waiting in Kola Bay for the sailing season to begin. For example, Novatek plans to ship 110.000 tonnes of condensate along the north coast of Siberia on the Sovcomflot Suezmax Vladimir Tikhonov later this summer.In total, Russias nuclear powered icebreaker fleet will reportedly escort some 15 larger bulkers and tankers along the Northern Sea Route this year, according to the local newspaper.Source: Tanker Operator

Read more
Page 17 of 17 1 16 17