Northern Sea Route open for business

Russia’s Northern Sea Route, the country’s Arctic marine passage around the northern coast of the country, is open to vessel traffic, the Barents Observer reported on Aug. 7. The extent of sea ice along the route is below average this year and vessels have been transiting part of the route with icebreaker escorts, the Barents Observer said. Russia has so far issued 270 permits for vessels to use the route, the Barents Observer said.

In recent years Russia has been making strenuous efforts to open its Northern Sea Route as a marine highway that can cut a significant amount of travel time for ships sailing between western Europe and east Asia. In October 2012 a Korean liquefied natural gas tanker traveled east to west around the route, a first passage through the route for a vessel of this type.

And on Aug. 12 the Barents Observer reported that a 19,000-ton Chinese merchant ship had departed northeast China to sail to Rotterdam via the Northern Sea Route, a first transit of the route by a Chinese vessel. The Chinese have been taking considerable interest in the Arctic and earlier this year obtained observer status in the Arctic Council, the ministerial forum of the eight Arctic nations.

However, it appears that an icebreaker operated by Greenpeace, the environmental activist organization, will not be plying Russia’s sea passage through the Arctic this year. According to media reports the Russians have refused to issue a permit to Greenpeace for the transit of the Northern Sea Route by the icebreaker.

—Alan Bailey