Moscow – A Russian natural gas tanker completed an experimental round trip along the North Sea Route – the first time that the way through the Arctic was opened this time of year. The voyage of the tanker Christophe de Margerie across the ice is the latest visual indicator of climate change in the delicate region.
The tanker, operated by the shipping company Sovcomflot, returned to the remote Russian gas terminal in Sabetta on February 19, taking Russia one step closer to its year-round commercial shipping target by warming the Arctic.
The LNG (liquefied natural gas) tanker left the Chinese port of Jiangsu on 27 January after delivering its cargo. He entered the North Sea Route, which crosses the northern coast of Russia, a few days later near Cape Dezhnev, where he was received by the Russian nuclear icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy (50 years of victory). Together, they completed the 2,500 nautical mile ice journey in 11 days and 10 hours.
The ship managed to complete the first leg of the Russian trip to China without an icebreaker. Both trips broke winter sailing records due to climate change in the Arctic, allowing for the passage of thinner ice. The use of the North Sea Route allows shippers in Russia and other countries to avoid a much longer trip south through Europe, the Middle East and all of South Asia, saving millions of dollars.
The deepest ice found by the ships was about 5 feet thick. The vessels found no accumulation of old ice from several years on the route, however, and meteorologist and journalist Eric Holthaus called this a clear indicator of “a climate emergency”.
Last May, Christophe de Margerie became the first large-capacity cargo ship to complete a transit to the east of the North Sea Route, two months earlier in the year than the trip has traditionally been made.
Sovcomflot
“As a result of the early North Sea Route (NSR) voyage completed by Christophe de Margerie in May 2020, as well as the current NSR voyage, navigation in the eastern part of the Arctic has been practically doubled,” said Sovcomflot CEO Igor Tonkovidov earlier this month. He noted that for decades the transit route along that segment of the NSR remained closed by ice from November until July.
“The Arctic is ours”
Novatek, the company that operates the LNG gas plant in Sabetta, plans to continue experimental travel eastwards along the North Sea Route, with the next scheduled for this spring, the head of the company told the Russian daily newspaper Kommersant.
European University of Saint Petersburg
Last year, Russia handled nearly 33 million tons of cargo along the North Sea Route, including more than 18 million tons of LNG. Cargo traffic along the NSR has grown almost five times in the past five years.
“The route can handle much more than that,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev said during a government meeting last week. He said that, according to a decree by President Vladimir Putin, cargo traffic along the NSR is expected to increase to 80 million tonnes per year by 2024.
“One way to achieve this goal is to expand the navigation period in the Arctic,” said Trutnev.
To help it achieve its lucrative ambitions in the Arctic, Russia has been renovating its unique civilian fleet of nuclear icebreakers. Russia last year unveiled the new flagship of that fleet, the Arktika, considered the largest and most powerful in the world.
OLGA MALTSEVA / AFP / Getty
“Russia’s Arctic attracts many people interested in its resources,” St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko said at the launch ceremony. “But the Arctic is ours and we have already proved it.”
By the end of 2022, Russia plans to launch two more ships in the same series.
Environmentalists have been concerned about the growing presence of nuclear energy in the sensitive Arctic region, which is already plagued by problems linked to climate change.
According to some estimates, the Arctic has oil and gas reserves equivalent to 412 billion barrels of oil, about 22% of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas.