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Northern Sea News

22 Jan 2024

Red Sea Shipping Disruptions Could be Avoided by Using the Arctic, But Challenges Exist

© Andrei Stepanov / Adobe Stock

Attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels on merchant ships in the Red Sea have hit world trade. Between November and December 2023, the number of containers travelling through the Red Sea each day fell by 60% as ships moving goods between Asia and Europe diverted their routes around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.This route results in at least ten days more sailing time, so has caused freight prices to surge and has triggered costly delays to production. The region has become a bottleneck for the global economy before.

22 Dec 2023

Lack of Arctic Tankers Puts Russia's LNG Development Dreams on Ice

© KKF / Adobe Stock

Russia is hoping its shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) will offset a sharp fall in pipeline gas exports to Europe, but a shortage of gas tankers and sanctions hold back its plans, analysts and industry sources said.Russia wants to boost its share of the LNG market to 20% by 2030 from 8% now, but a force majeure declaration by top producer Novatek over LNG supplies from its future Arctic LNG 2 project due to sanctions shows the hurdles it faces.Novatek's announcement comes after the United States last month imposed sanctions on Arctic LNG 2…

24 Oct 2023

Russia Strikes Deal with DP World to Develop Arctic Sea Route

© Viesturs / Adobe Stock

Russian nuclear agency Rosatom said on Tuesday it has set up a joint venture with Dubai's DP World to develop container shipping through the Arctic as part of an initiative heavily promoted by President Vladimir Putin.The deal with one of the world's top port operators is the most tangible sign yet of Moscow's ability to attract big international partners to help it realise its ambitious plans for what it calls the Northern Sea Route.Putin has talked up prospects for the Arctic corridor…

18 Oct 2023

Norwegian Navy Shadows Chinese Vessel Probed over Baltic Pipeline Damage

A Norwegian Navy ship shadowed a Chinese container ship investigated over damage to a gas pipeline in the Gulf of Finland for about 15 hours as it sailed along the western coast of Norway on Monday, vessel tracking data showed.Finnish investigators on Tuesday said they were looking into the Chinese vessel, the NewNew Polar Bear, and a Russian-flagged ship, the Sevmorput, as well as other vessels, present in the area when a Baltic Sea pipeline was damaged on Oct. 8.They said the incident was due to "outside activity" and could have been deliberate.The NewNew Polar Bear is a container ship travelling between Europe and China via the Northern Sea Route in the Arctic.

19 Sep 2023

Japan Responds to Fresh Sanctions on Arctic LNG 2

© KKF / Adobe Stock

Japan will ensure stable and steady energy supply to the country even after the U.S. imposed fresh sanctions related to Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Tuesday.The Arctic LNG 2 project is operated by Russia's Novatek while Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co and state-owned Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) hold a combined 10% stake.Mitsui and JOGMEC are set to receive a combined 2 million metric tons of LNG per year from the project.The latest sanctions are part of several economic measures the U.S.…

13 Sep 2023

India, Russia to Widen Maritime Cooperation

© Raja Stills / Adobe Stock

India and Russia will explore the possibility of using new transport corridors such as the Northern Sea Route and Eastern Maritime Corridor between Vladivostok and Chennai to widen maritime cooperation, the Indian government said on Wednesday.A decision to work towards this was made during a meeting between India's Ports, Shipping and Waterways minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, and Russia's Development of the Far East and Arctic minister, A.O.

06 Sep 2023

Russia In Talks with China, India to Develop More Ice-class Vessels

© owr / Adobe Stock

Russia must boost production facilities for the construction of ice-breaking vessels in order to meet its targets for increasing trade via the Northern Sea route, Moscow's official in charge of Arctic development has said.The government has been in talks with India and China on such projects, Alexei Chekunkov, the head of Russia's Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, told RBC media.Russia has long viewed the route, which runs from Murmansk near Russia's border with Norway eastwards to the Bering Strait near Alaska…

23 Aug 2023

Gazprom's First LNG Cargo via Arctic Destined for China's Jingtang

A liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo from Russia's Gazprom being sent via the Northern Sea Route (NSR) for the first time is destined for the Chinese port of Jingtang, Refinitiv ship tracking data shows.The Velikiy Novgorod tanker was loaded at the Portovaya LNG plant on the Baltic Sea on Aug. 14, according to the data.As of Wednesday, it was moving in the Kara Sea in the Arctic with the data showing an estimated arrival at Jingtang on Sept. 12.Earlier this month, Russia also shipped a rare naphtha cargo via the North Sea route, according to traders and Refinitiv data.(Reuters - Reporting by Oksana Kobzeva; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Jason Neely)

15 Jun 2023

Kremlin Urges Faster Action to Let Foreign Vessels Use Northern Sea Route

Credit: Silver/AdobeStock

A Kremlin aide urged the Russian government on Thursday to adopt legislation allowing foreign-flagged vessels to use the Northern Sea Route (NSR), which Moscow wants to turn into a new Suez Canal.The NSR runs from Murmansk near Russia's border with Norway eastwards to the Bering Strait near Alaska.Although the route is physically challenging, it could cut sea transport times between Europe and Asia at a time when Russia's trade with Western countries is at post-Cold War lows following Moscow's decision to send troops into Ukraine."We have been left without transit routes.

29 Mar 2023

Russia, India in Talks to Develop Northern Sea Shipping Route

Illustration only ©a_medvedkov/AdobeStock

Russia and India are looking at expanding the use of the Northern Sea shipping route that passes through the Arctic and which could include the building of processing facilities, Russia's Interfax agency reported on Wednesday. Alexei Chekunkov, Russia's minister for the development of the Far East and the Arctic, is visiting India and a key issue in his talks with Indian officials was the "reliable and safe" transportation of goods through the Northern Sea Route using Russian and Indian ports, Interfax reported.

22 Nov 2022

Putin Touts Russia's 'Arctic Power' with Launch of Nuclear Icebreakers

(Photo: Baltic Shipyard)

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday touted Russia's Arctic power at a flag-raising ceremony and dock launch for two nuclear-powered icebreakers that will ensure year-round navigation in the Western Arctic.Presiding via video link from the Kremlin at the launch ceremony in the former imperial capital of St Petersburg in northern Russia, Putin said such icebreakers were of strategic importance for the country."Both icebreakers were laid down as part of a large serial project and are part of our large-scale…

19 Sep 2022

Russia Conducts Military Drills in the Arctic Sea

(Photo: Russian Defense Ministry)

Russian nuclear-powered submarines fired cruise missiles in the Arctic on Friday as part of military drills designed to test Moscow's readiness for a possible conflict in its icy northern waters, the defense ministry said.The drills, named Umka-2022, took place in the Chukchi Sea, an eastern stretch of the Arctic Ocean that separates Russia from the U.S. state of Alaska.Russia sees its vast Arctic territory as a vital strategic interest and has been building up its military capabilities in the region for years…

04 Aug 2022

Russia to Spend $30 Billion on Northern Sea Route by 2035

© Andrei Stepanov / Adobe Stock

Russia is to spend almost 1.8 trillion roubles ($30 billion) on the Northern Sea Route development project up to 2035, according to a document uploaded to the government's website.The document said the sea route, which is being facilitated by reduced sea ice as a result of climate change, is "a very important transport corridor, of both national and global significance".(Reuters - Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Alison Williams)

27 Jun 2022

Melting Arctic Ice Could Transform International Shipping Routes -Study

© Nightman1965 / Adobe Stock

Melting ice in the Arctic Ocean could yield new trade routes in international waters, reducing the shipping industry’s carbon footprint and weakening Russia’s control over trade routes through the Arctic, a study found.With climate change rapidly warming the world’s oceans, the future of the Arctic Ocean looks grim. Climate models show that parts of the Arctic that were once covered in ice year-round are warming so quickly that they will be reliably ice-free for months on end in as few as two decades.

11 Feb 2022

MOL Nets Charter in Russia for New Ice-breaking Condensate Carrier

Illustration only - ©Mikhail Perfilov/AdobeStock

Japanese shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has signed a charter contract for a newbuilding ice-breaking tanker that will transport condensate from the Arctic LNG 2 Project on Russia’s Gydan Peninsula.The contract was signed by a MOL subsidiary with the project company, whose largest shareholder is Russia-based PAO NOVATEK. The vessel,  slated for delivery in 2024, will be constructed in China by Guangzhou Shipyard International Company, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC).

31 Jan 2022

Cool Summer: Northern Sea Route Remains Closed for the First Time in 12 Years

Credit: Weathernews

Weathernews Inc. Global Ice Center announced its review of Arctic Ocean sea ice conditions during 2021. Due to the cool summer temperatures in July 2021, sea ice did not see much melt and the minimum sea ice area for the year was the largest in the past seven years at 4.61 million km2.Weathernews Inc. Global Ice Center said Monday that both the Northeast (Russian side) and the Northwest (Canadian side) Passages of the Northern Sea Route remained closed. This is the first time in 12 years since 2009 that the Northeast Passage did not open.

26 Jan 2022

Russia Starts Navy Drills to Rehearse Protecting Arctic Shipping Lane

(Photo: Russian Defense Ministry)

Russian warships entered the Barents Sea on Wednesday to rehearse protecting a major shipping lane in the Arctic, its Northern Fleet said on Wednesday, as Moscow stages sweeping military exercises involving all of its fleets.Russian military moves are being closely watched by the West at a time when a troop build-up near its border with Ukraine has sparked fears of a conflict. Moscow has denied it plans to launch an attack on Ukraine.Moscow said last week it would stage a series of drills involving all its fleets in the seas directly adjacent to Russia.

07 Dec 2021

Moscow Eyes Ban on Foreign Ships Carrying Russian Fuel via Northern Sea Route

Credit: Mikhail Perfilov

Russia is considering banning foreign vessels from shipping Russian energy cargoes via the Northern Sea Route, as well as from icebreaking and coastal navigation, the Kommersant newspaper reported on Tuesday citing a draft government resolution.The step, proposed by the Industry and Trade Ministry, would restrict vessels built outside Russia on the Northern Sea Route that Moscow wants to become a major shipping lane as the Arctic warms at a faster rate than the rest of the world.The ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Kommersant reported that the ministry on Nov.

26 Oct 2021

India Receives First LNG Cargo from Yamal LNG Project

Marshal Vasilevsky carrier - Credit: Vladimir Belyaev

India received its first import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia's Yamal LNG project over the weekend, Refinitive Eikon LNG flows data showed.The cargo was supplied by Russian gas company Gazprom under its long-term LNG sales deal with GAIL (India) Ltd, an industry source said.The cargo on board the Marshal Vasilevsky sailed through the Northern Sea Route, Pacific Ocean, and Indian Ocean before arriving at GAIL's Dabhol terminal over the weekend, the ship-tracking data…

11 Oct 2021

Russia Aims for Year-round Shipping via Northern Sea Route in 2022 or 2023

© Mikhail Perfilov / Adobe Stock

Russia plans to begin year-round shipping via the Northern Sea Route that passes through the Arctic in 2022 or 2023, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Trutnev said on Monday.Russia has invested heavily in infrastructure to develop the Northern Sea Route and wants it to become a major shipping lane as the Arctic warms at a faster rate than the rest of the world. It is not currently used in winter due to thick ice cover."We are planning to start the transition to year-round navigation in 2022-2023…

23 Sep 2021

Arctic Shipping Requires New Ways to Manage Risks

© Silver/AdobeStock

In February 2021, LNG carrier Christophe de Margerie, escorted by a nuclear icebreaker, became the first large-capacity cargo vessel to transit the eastern sector of the Northern Sea Route (NSR). The voyage demonstrated that year-round safe navigation is possible along the entire length of the Northern Sea Route (NSR).In the last five years, cargo traffic along the NSR has grown almost fivefold, reaching 33 million tons in 2020. Last year, there were 64 voyages on the NSR compared with 37 in 2019.

03 Sep 2021

Russia Gearing Up for First LNG-fueled Icebreaker as Arctic Shipping Grows

Icebreaker clears path for Nornickel cargo carrier along Norther Sea Route - Credit: Nornickel

Metals miner Nornickel said it will participate in the design and building of Russia's first dual-fuel liquefied natural gas (LNG) and diesel icebreaker to prepare for more capacity in the environmentally sensitive Arctic region.Russia, which has a fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers, has long considered LNG-powered icebreaking ships to develop the Northeast Sea Route into an international shipping lane from Arctic waters.Nornickel, the world's largest palladium and nickel producer…

03 Sep 2021

Russia Won't Restrict Other Countries Using Northern Sea Route

Illustration - Credit: a_medvedkov/AdobeStock

Russia will not restrict other countries using the Northern Sea Route across its northern flank, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday at an economic forum.The United States has previously accused Russia of demanding that foreign vessels request permissions to pass in the Arctic region and requiring Russian maritime pilots to board the ships, while threatening to use force against vessels failing to comply. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Edmund Blair)

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