International Shipping on Northern Sea Route Collapses As Foreign Companies Stay Away For the first time in more than a decade the NSR will not see international transit traffic as operators avoid Russia as a result of sanctions. Could this open the door for a new Arctic route outside Russian waters?
Cargo Volume on Northern Sea Route Reaches 35m Tons, Record Number of Transits In 2021, 34.9m tons of cargo were transported along Russia’s Northern Sea Route (NSR) surpassing last year’s figures by almost 2m tons. Transit traffic also saw record highs with 86 transits voyages carrying 2.75m tons of cargo.
Novatek Orders 10 Arc7 Carriers for Arctic LNG 2 from Zvezda Shipyard Novatek takes a big step forward in its Arctic LNG 2 project ordering ten new icebreaking gas carriers from the Russian Zvezda shipyard. The company is expected to order a further twelve ships from DSME in South Korea before the end of September.
Major shipping companies Hapag-Lloyd and MSC Step Away From Arctic Shipping Hapag-Lloyd and MSC are the latest shipping companies saying they will not ship via the Arctic. Companies cite environmental concerns, but experts caution that appearing environmentally friendly may be primary driver. Will more companies, like Maersk and COSCO, have to follow suit in light of growing public concern for climate change and the environment?
Novatek Considers Returning to Norway to Transship Yamal LNG Russia’s second-largest natural gas producer Novatek is eyeing a potential return to Norway to transship liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its Yamal LNG plant following U.S. sanctions against one of its shipping partners. The company previously reloaded LNG near Honningsvåg with partner Tschudi Shipping Company.
Novatek’s Shipping Partners Teekay and COSCO Embroiled in U.S. Sanctions New sanctions targeting Chinese shipping companies have resulted in uncertainty for Novatek’s Yamal LNG shipping partners showing that Russian Arctic oil and gas developments remain potentially vulnerable to U.S. sanctions.
CMA CGM Shipping Company Backs Away From Russia’s Northern Sea Route CMA CGM, the world’s fourth largest container shipping company, announced it will not operate in the Arctic due to environmental concerns.
Chinese Shipping Company COSCO To Send Record Number of Ships Through Arctic COSCO continues to step up its operations in the Arctic. The company plans to conduct 14 transit voyages along Russia’s Northern Sea Route between July and October – nearly twice the number of 2018.
Russia’s Northern Sea Route Sees Record Cargo Volume in 2018 Russia’s Northern Sea Route saw another record-setting year in 2018 as 18 million tons of cargo traveled along the country’s Arctic coastline. This compares to just 3.9 million tons five years ago in 2013 and also represents an 80 percent increase over 2017.
China’s COSCO Shipping Company Expands Activities on Northern Sea Route Chinese shipping company COSCO has sent five vessels through the Northern Sea Route (NSR) this year as part of its Arctic voyage program “Yong Sheng Plus.” This represents the first time that a foreign-flagged operator has sent more than three vessels through the route in a single season.
Frozen waters: Northern Sea Route traffic boosted by internal traffic, while transits fall sharply As ice reclaims the waters along the Northern Sea Route (NSR), the 2015 shipping season along the Russian coast line has come to a close. Officials have released preliminary transit and cargo figures for the NSR.
