Northern Sea Route Now Completely Open; More Than 50 Ships, Including 16 Tankers, In Transit
EDIT
A key reason for the major sea ice melting is the heat wave that in May and June moved across the Russian Arctic coast, leading to very low sea ice extent in the Laptev and Barents Seas, the researchers say. Already in mid-July, the Northern Sea Route (NSR) was almost ice-free and by 20th July there was completely open waters across the vast seaway. Ice maps from the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute show that also the Vilkitsky Strait and the East Siberian Sea, the most icy and difficult parts of the sea route, has easy passage for ships.
Many ships
More than 50 vessels are currently sailing on the route, figures from the Northern Sea Route Administration show. Several of them are tankers bringing petroleum products from Arctic fields to Asian markets. The first LNG carriers made it across the route already in late May, the earliest voyages on the route ever.
It was the “Christophe de Margerie” that led the way across the icy waters when it left Arctic terminal Sabetta on 19th May with course for China. It was soon followed by the “Vladimir Voronin” and several more carriers. While the “Christophe de Margerie” was accompanies by an icebreaker, the subsequent vessels sailed most of the route independently without icebreaker escort.
On July 26th, there were a total of 16 tankers sailing on the eastern part of the Northern Sea Route, some of them small tankers that had sailed up the great Siberian rivers and into Arctic waters. There are also several cargo vessels on the route, ship tracker data from Marine Traffic show.
EDIT
https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/industry-and-energy/2020/07/ships-moving-arctic-sea-ice-level-reaches-record-low
