September 21 2023
Source: Cengiz Tokgöz, VesselFinder
Tankers that do not have an ice class can safely navigate the Northern Sea Route during the current navigation period. Representatives of the state corporation “Rosatom” told the Financial Times about this, commenting on statements by environmentalists about the risks allegedly associated with the voyage of the tankers Leonid Loza and NS Bravo along the NSR heading for China.
“Improved navigation conditions in the summer and autumn months make it possible to safely operate ships without an ice class [on the NSR],” Rosatom noted in a statement, as cited by the newspaper. It also emphasizes that the vessels were thoroughly inspected, and environmental issues “have always been and remain a top priority for Rosatom.”
According to the publication, Leonid Loza and NS Bravo, owned by the Russian “Novoship” company (a subsidiary of “Sovcomflot”), became the first tankers without ice class to obtain permission to sail along the Northern Sea Route. Both vessels were built in China in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Flying the Liberian flag, they headed from Murmansk to Chinese ports last week. Using the Arctic route allows the ship to reduce travel time by 10 days compared to sailing through the Suez Canal, and also, according to experts interviewed by FT, save up to $500 thousand on fuel costs.
According to FT calculations by “Kpler”, an analytical company founded in 2014 in Paris, 10 oil tankers (compared to one in 2022) and one LNG tanker traveled to China along the Northern Sea Route in 2023. Moreover, they all had one ice class or another.
FT interlocutors representing environmental organizations pointed to the unpredictable natural conditions of the Arctic, the danger of an environmental disaster in the event of an emergency, and the exceptional difficulty of eliminating the consequences of an oil spill in high latitudes. According to the FT, each tanker carries about 1 million barrels of oil.
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