Taimyr Peninsula News

Russia launched military exercises in the Arctic. According to press service of Russia’s Defence Ministry, the interservice exercise of the Northern Fleet forces started in the Arctic at the Taimyr Peninsula. According to the Northern Fleet Commander Admiral Vladimir Korolev, this exercise is directed to strengthening security of the Russian Arctic, providing free economic activity of the country and protection of its territory against potential military threats. More than 1,000 soldiers, 14 aircraft and 34 special military units are taking part in drills in northern Siberia, weeks after Russia pressed a claim at the United Nations for an additional 1.2 million square kilometers (463,000 square miles) of Arctic shelf.

The “Nordvik”, which had been drifting in remote Arctic waters following a collision with an ice floe, is now being accompanied by icebreakers to its home port, reports the 'Barents Observer'. Citing the Russian Sea and River Transport Agency, Barents Obsever says that a total of 1800 litres of diesel oil was transferred from the “Nordvik” into the tanker “Boris Vilkitsky”. The two vessels are now accompanied by two nuclear-powered icebreakers, the “Taymyr” and the “Vaigach”, out of the Matisen strait, bound for the tankship's home port of Khatanga.

Norilsk Nickel is building its own fleet of ships to capitalize on the melting of the polar ice caps. The company ordered five reinforced cargo vessels that can plow through the waters north of as new sea routes open. Moscow-based , the world's biggest producer of nickel, is spending at least $467 million to buy reinforced vessels rather than rent both freighters and icebreaker escorts. Global warming, while threatening environmental disasters, is creating economic opportunity for ship owners, makers of ocean cargo vessels and tour operators. New routes may expand access to the world's second-biggest oil supply, deliver wheat to 30% faster and increase Arctic tourism as much as 50% in a decade, Bloomberg reported. 's Aker Yards and 's Samsung Heavy Industries Co.

Norilsk, the world's biggest producer of nickel, is building its own shipping fleet to capitalize on the melting of the polar ice caps, Bloomberg reported. The company ordered five reinforced cargo vessels that can plow through the waters north of Siberia as new sea routes open. Norilsk is spending at least $467m to buy reinforced vessels rather than rent both freighters and icebreaker escorts. Global warming, while threatening environmental disasters, is creating economic opportunity for shippers, makers of ocean cargo vessels and tour operators. New routes may expand access to the world's second-biggest oil supply, deliver U.S. wheat to Asia 30 percent faster and increase Arctic tourism as much as 50 percent in a decade.