The container ship ‘Venta Maersk’ has successfully sailed through the Northern Sea Route of the Arctic Ocean. Escorted by a nuclear icebreaker, it followed the Northern Sea Route up until the Bering Strait, and then travelled along Russia’s north coast, into the Norwegian Sea.
As Maersk told The Independent, Venta Maersk was expected to reach its final destination of St. Petersburg next week.
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On September 11, Atomflot’s nuclear icebreaker “50 Years of Victory” escorted the container vessel Venta Maersk. The nuclear icebreaker provided a safe passage for Venta Maersk from the East Siberian Sea to the Laptev Sea.
The ship carries frozen fish and will travel through the Northern Sea Route until the Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska, before travelling along the Russian north coast ending up to St. Petersburg.
However, according to sources, the company noted that this is a one-off trial aiming to discover a new route for container ships and to gather scientific data.
In particular, Maersk said that the aim of this trial passage via the NSR is to ‘explore an unknown route for container shipping and to collect scientific data.’
There is more traffic in this route lately as during summer the ice decreases. In fact, oil and gas cargoes are making the journey, as choosing the Northern Sea Route, journey times between Asia and Europe can be reduced by up to two weeks.
