Record Season for LNG, Crude Oil, and Container Shipping Looms in Russian Arctic Shipping activity along Russia’s Northern Sea Route looks set for a flurry of activity this summer arising from growing LNG exports, transit shipments of crude oil, and the promise of a new series of large container ships traveling between Europe and China.
China Pushes Northern Sea Route Transit Cargo to New Record Strong demand for Russian crude oil in China resulted in record transit cargo on the Northern Sea Route in 2023. More than a dozen shipments delivered 1.5m tons of crude oil from the Baltic Sea to China through the Arctic. In total the route saw 2.1m tons of transit cargo, surpassing the previous high set in 2021.
China Pushes Northern Sea Route Transit Cargo to New Record Strong demand for Russian crude oil in China resulted in record transit cargo on the Northern Sea Route in 2023. More than a dozen shipments delivered 1.5m tons of crude oil from the Baltic Sea to China through the Arctic. In total the route saw 2.1m tons of transit cargo, surpassing the previous high set in 2021.
Russia Sends Oil Tanker Without Ice Protection Through Arctic For First Time In a sign of things to come Russia has sent the first non-ice class Aframax oil tanker into the Arctic. Hampered by Western sanctions a desperate Russia has decided to forgo long standing practices regarding ice-protection in an effort to reroute ever-larger amounts of crude oil to China, experts say.
Russian Crude Oil Now Flowing To China Via Arctic Ocean Russia continues to reroute oil previously destined for Europe to Asia. Now, two tankers have traveled across the Arctic to China, thereby elevating the risk profile of Arctic shipping, experts say. Increased traffic means increased probability of an accident – with very high consequences.
Alaska-Alberta Railway Clears Hurdle with Approval From President Trump The Alaska to Alberta (A2A) Railway project, a proposed 2,500 km rail corridor to transport oil from Canada’s Alberta province to the port of Anchorage in Alaska, received presidential approval in the U.S.
