Sanctioned Suezmax Oil Tanker Without Ice Protection Stuck for Days on Russia’s Arctic Northern Sea Route

A non ice-class Suezmax oil tanker has been forced to wait several days due to ice conditions before proceeding along Russia’s Northern Sea Route. The Oman-flagged 274-meter Lynx is carrying around a million barrels of oil from Murmansk, Russia to China. Its exact destination currently remains unknown. It is one of several oil tankers without ice protection shuttling Moscow’s crude to buyers in China via the Arctic. 

The vessel encountered late-season sea ice highlighting the navigational challenges for ships without ice protection in Arctic waters. Lynx came to a stop at 72° northern latitude in the High Arctic on September 6 waiting several days before proceeding at very slow speeds in close proximity to the shoreline to find a route through the ice.

The vessel does not hold a mandatory Arctic shipping permit and Russian authorities did not list it in their daily logs of active traffic on the route, an increasingly common practice to obscure sanction-busting shipping activity. Lynx has been sanctioned by the US, UK, EU and others for violating the G7 oil price cap and engaging in irregular high-risk shipping practices. 

It is the second time in as many weeks that a non ice-class ship has run into difficulties in the East Siberian Sea. In early September the LNG carrier Arctic Metagaz was delayed in the area around Pevek for more than a week. Neither vessel had arranged for icebreaker escorts ahead of time as would have been required by navigational rules. Non ice-class vessels are not permitted to operate independently even in light ice conditions, according to the rules set by the Northern Sea Route administration. 

Both vessels eventually proceeded with the assistance of nuclear icebreakers operating in the area. Another LNG carrier, La Perouse, also without ice-class, turned around in the waters off Western Siberia and elected to instead take the long way around Africa. 

Russia has promoted the Northern Sea Route as a faster alternative to the Suez Canal for shipments between Europe and Asia, but a shortage of ice-class vessels has forced it to increasingly use ships without protection and stretching navigational rules.

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