Russia Gearing Up for First LNG-fueled Icebreaker as Arctic Shipping Grows
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…
Castrol Calls for Clarity on Polar Lubricants Usage
As Polar shipping movements increase, Castrol Marine suggests that greater attention should be paid to the environmental credentials of lubricants used on board in applications where there is a risk of leakages and discharges. Growing demand for effective shipping routes and cruises to previously inaccessible destinations has led vessels into increasingly sensitive marine areas. Exemplary is the increasing amount of seaborne traffic beginning to move along the Siberian coast. There are also hopes of opening up more of the North West Passage above Canada. The Northern Sea Route voyage is one-third of the distance of traditional routes through the Suez Canal, bringing with it lower fuel costs.
Nickel Ship Sinks
Inco Ltd., the western world's biggest nickel producer, said a ship carrying 2,200 tons of nickel in matte from its Indonesian unit PT Inco, worth an estimated $13 million, sank off Japan at the weekend. Inco said the load was insured and represented about 3.3 percent of PT Inco's annual production, which was 130 million pounds in 2000. At least eight of the 14 crew members, including the captain of the Panama-registered White Koowa, drowned when the ship sank on Sunday off Kochi, about 540 km (335 miles) southwest of Tokyo, the Japanese coast guard said. It is not yet known why the ship went down. "It is not immediately clear whether the lost nickel is recoverable," Inco said in a statement in Toronto. - (Reuters)