(Bloomberg) --Russia wants to make its Arctic waters more attractive to shippers than the Suez Canal and could be willing to compensate for potential risks to make that happen. President Vladimir Putin has made development of the Arctic one of Russia’s top long-term priorities and huge projects to export liquefied natural gas via the Northern Sea Route have already lured … [Read more...]
MSC Rules Out Using the Northern Sea Route
MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company is joining a growing list of carriers that have pledged not to use the Northern Sea Route for shipping between Europe and Asia. MSC said in a statement Thursday that its decision is based on environmental concerns, adding that it will instead focus on improving environmental performance on existing global trade routes. “As a responsible … [Read more...]
Russia’s Lukoil Sells Rare Arctic Crude Oil to China
By Shu Zhang and Olga Yagova SINGAPORE/MOSCOW, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Russian oil producer Lukoil has sold a cargo of Varandey Blend crude to a Chinese buyer with the shipment sailing via Arctic waters in an unusual trade flow, according to industry sources and shipping data. Lukoil's trading arm, Litasco, sold the cargo to Chinaoil, the trading vehicle of state-owned CNPC, said … [Read more...]
Northern Sea Route Shipping Expected to Quadruple by 2024
Russia expects shipping along the Northern Sea Route in to increase more than four-fold by 2024 compared to 2018 levels. The outlook was presented this week during a working meeting of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) Public Council held Vladivostok at the 5th Eastern Economic Forum. The working group included heads of both public and private organizations from Russia and … [Read more...]
LNG-Powered Crude Oil Tanker Crossing Northern Sea Route
An LNG-powered tanker loaded with over 100,000 metric tons of crude oil is transiting the Northern Sea Route for the first time as climate change continues to make the route more accessible to commercial shipping. Russian shipping company Sovcomflot’s says its Aframax tanker Korolev Prospect began its transit of the NSR on August 2019. The journey along the NSR spans from … [Read more...]