The Christophe de Margerie. (Credit: Sovcomflot) A Russian tanker ship has traversed the Arctic Ocean without the help of a separate icebreaker, marking a first for the Northern Sea Route. The Christophe de Margerie made the journey from Norway to South Korea in 23 days carrying a shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG), opening up the frigid route to sustained shipping traffic. Ships normally travel through the Suez Canal to reach Asia from Europe, a trip that takes some 30 percent longer. The ship, which has a reinforced hull allowing it to travel through ice up to seven feet thick, is the first of 15 planned tankers to take advantage of retreating sea ice in the Arctic.
The ship is owned by Sovcomflot, a Russian company specializing in fossil fuel transport, and will support a new LNG mining operation on the Yamal Peninsula in Siberia. As warming oceans have opened ...
