Rosatomflot News

A nuclear-powered ice breaker Russia says is the world’s largest and most powerful set off on Tuesday on a two-week journey to the Arctic as part of Moscow’s efforts to tap the region’s commercial potential.Known as Arktika, the nuclear icebreaker left St. Petersburg and headed for the Arctic port of Murmansk, a journey that marks its entry into Russia’s icebreaker fleet.Russian state firm Rosatomflot has called the vessel the world’s largest and most powerful icebreaker.

Shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Friday it is in talks with Russia's state-owned icebreaker operator to send more goods via the Arctic, which is becoming more accessible as climate change reduces the sea ice.Russia has made developing the so-called northern sea route (NSR) - which requires new ports and heavy icebreakers to move goods - a priority, with supporters dubbing the route the northern Suez Canal.Last summer, Maersk carried out what it said was a one-off trial…

Russia’s largest independent natural gas producer and LNG operator, Novatek received the first shipment of cargo for its Arctic LNG 2 project at the Utrenneye field.The nuclear container ship Sevmorput owned by Rosatomflot loaded the cargo and arrived at the site on March 26, said a statement from Rosatomflot.It took the Sevmorput five days of sailing to reach the Gulf of Ob, it said. The 260 meter long vessel on 21st March sailed out from Arkhangelsk fully loaded with construction goods for Novatek’s new natural gas project.“The transfer from Arkhangelsk went in a regular mode and took five days,” said Andrey Smirnov, director of shipping for Atomflot FSUE.

Rosatomflot (FSUE Atomflot), Russian company that maintains the world's only fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers, said that its nuclear icebreakers steered 331 ships of a total gross capacity 12.7 mln tons. As compared to 2017, the capacity of steered ships increased by 5 mln tons.The Rosatom group company said in a press release that with that, the number of steering operations decreased (last year it was 493 ships) due to completion of the active phase of construction in the port of Sabetta and reduction of flow of vessels carrying cargoes for construction.Besides, as liquefied natural gas shipments from Sabetta started by LNG tankers of Yamalmax class…

Thick sea ice is impeding Arctic shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia's newly-built export plant in Yamal, Russia's state-run nuclear-powered tanker company Rosatomflot said.Unseasonably severe ice conditions are also clogging routes to Asia through the Northern Sea Route (NSR), leading to the extension of the winter-spring navigation of Atomflot's nuclear ice-breakers, it said.The Novatek-operated LNG facility's fleet of LNG ice-breaking tankers aim to deliver gas to Northeast Asia along the NSR in summertime when ice sheets thin.In winter…

Shipping services that support Russia's attempts to extract oil from remote parts of the Arctic will run into difficulties as banks scale back energy financing due to Western sanctions, increasing transport costs for the frontier sector. Sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and European Union over Ukraine have targeted the delivery of oil technology, goods and services, aiming to make it impossible for Moscow to access new oil sources. The world's largest energy exporter, Russia relies on oil and gas exports for about half its federal budget.

One major new development on the Northern Sea Route is the interest in using it to move liquefied natural gas to energy-hungry Asian markets, writes Stan Jones of the Office of the Federal Coordinator, Alaska Natural Gas in a recent article. Late last year, the LNG carrier Ob River hauled the first LNG cargo over the route, from Norway to Kyushu Electric Power in Tobata, in southern Japan. The icebreaker-escorted trip, from the Snohvit LNG terminal in Hammerfest, took 27 days, and that was in November and December, late in the season.

Russia's Baltic Shipyard starts construction of the first LK-60 nuclear-powered icebreaker. The LK-60 will be the largest and most powerful icebreaker ever built, making commercial traffic along the Northern Sea Route possible all year around. According to Barents Observer, Russia will have a large demand for new nuclear-powered icebreakers in the near future. Of the existing six vessels that are operating in Arctic waters today only one will be operational by 2020. The three new icebreakers will cost Russia a total of 51,8 billion rubles (app €1,3 billion).

Cargo transport between Asia and Europe on the Northern Sea Route (NSR) has reached the one million tons milestone. The total cargo transported on the NSR is already almost 200 000 tons more than in last year’s season, updated numbers from Rosatomflot show. 35 vessels have transported a total of 1 022 577 tons of different goods between Europe and Asia so far, and the season is not yet over, reports the 'Barents Observer'. In 2011 34 vessels transported a total of 820 789 tons during the five months the route was open. The sailing season can still last another month. In 2011 the last vessel reached the Pacific Ocean on November 18, marking the longest sailing season on the Northern Sea Route ever. Petroleum products constitute the largest cargo group on the NSR in 2012.

Last voyage for Russian nuclear waste hulk 'Lepse' as she heads out of Murmansk Port for a lengthy decommissioning. Rosatomflot and Bellona have worked with many international partners and governments to develop a proper risk-assessment plan for a safe decommissioning of “Lepse” – and of course found funding for the work,” Frederic Hauge of the Bellona Fournation told the 'Barents Observer'. Getting “Lepse” safely out of Murmansk and decommissioned has been a high profile case for Europe’s nuclear safety cooperation with Russia in the north for nearly two decades. In 2008, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) granted €43 million to the decommission work. When the vessel arrives at the Nerpa naval yard the damaged spent nuclear fuel will have to be removed.

After a slow start this summer mariime transport along the northern Sea Route has gained speed the last couple of weeks. In course of the two first months of this years’ sailing period only nine vessels had used the Northern Sea Route (NSR) for transportation of cargo between Europe and Asia, as reported in 'BarentsObserver'. During the last two weeks, things have really gained speed, and the number of vessels sailing the NSR has now reached a total of 22 – 13 from the west to the east and nine in the opposite direction. A total of 749.706 tons of different cargo has been transported – approaching last year’s record of 820.789 tons, a press release from the operator of Russia’s fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers Rosatomflot reads. The sailing season will probably last another two months.

The expected record number of vessels using the Northern Sea Route between Europe & Asia this summer seems delayed. In course of the two first months of sailing, only nine vessels of different types have taken the journey, but if the sailing season lasts as long as it did in 2011, there might still be time to break last year’s record of 34 vessels and 820.000 tons of cargo, reports Barents Observer. Nuclear-powered icebreakers have been escorting vessels in transit between Europe and Asia in convoys this summer…

Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS) is helping clients execute voyages through the Northern Sea Route (NSR) as this new trade lane begins to open up new opportunities for shipping. WSS is working with Russian Arctic shipping specialist Rosatomflot for ice-breaking assistance and has developed a programme to assists clients with technical, legal and insurance preparations they must satisfy to make the journey safely. The NSR is currently open between 1 July and 1 November but holds out the long-term prospect of a faster route between Northern Europe and North Asia/Alaska, cutting the journey time on an Europe-Asia voyage from 34 days to 22 days.

Updated charts of the Northern Sea Route without the 'white spots' will be created in 2015-2016, in addition, the Ministry of Transport is planning to organize this year's transfer of jurisdiction from the Ministry of Defence to FSUE 'Hydrographic Enterprise' or in its own subordinate structure, said the deputy director of the Department of State Policy for Maritime and River Transport of Russia, Vitaly Klyuev. "We will increase the hydrographic work in the Arctic to the year 2015-2016 to get a real picture of the depths for safe navigation,"  he said at a news conference in RIA Novosti, devoted to the preparation of the Russian exposition at the World exhibition "Expo-2012" to be held from May to August in South Korea.

On the 15th of August M/T Marilee LR1 Ice Class 1A, successfully completed her first Northern Sea Route Passage, safely escorted by Rosatomflot's nuclear ice breaker Vaigach. The savings compared to a voyage through Suez were 18 days and 580 tons of bunker resulting in a significant cost benefit for the Charterer and reduced emissions. The M/T Mariann, sister vessel to Marilee, embarked mid September as the second vessel under Marinvest management, on her NSR passage for discharge in the Far East.