• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
Celebrating our 1,000th edition. The climate news you need
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  FEATURED
BREAKING: U.S. Senate Passes Historic $369B Climate Package August 7, 2022
Researchers Point To ‘Dangerously Unexplored’ Risk of Global Climate Catastrophe August 2, 2022
Koch Network Pressures Manchin, Sinema as Advocates Praise ‘Game Changing’ Climate Deal August 2, 2022
Coastal GasLink Cost Skyrockets 70% to $11.2B August 2, 2022
Ottawa Releases Regulatory ‘Frame’ for Net-Zero Grid by 2035 August 2, 2022
Next
Prev

LNG Tanker Completes First Winter Passage of Russia’s Melting Northern Sea Route

February 26, 2021
Reading time: 2 minutes

International Maritime Organization/flickr

International Maritime Organization/flickr

15
SHARES
 

Since the New Year, an LNG tanker has twice navigated the Northern Sea Route—a feat that until recently would have been impossible in mid-winter. While some see the opening of the passage as a worrying sign for the climate, others are salivating at the thought of a new frontier for commerce.

Bloomberg Green lays out the case for worry, confirming that the Arctic is warming “more than twice as quickly as the rest of the world, and the area covered by ice there has reached historic lows multiple times over the past 12 months.”

Between 1994 and 2017, 28 trillion tonnes of ice were lost globally (a mass sufficient to cover all of the UK in a 100-metre-thick ice sheet, notes Bloomberg). That loss is “in line with the worst-case climate scenarios outlined by scientists.”

Stretching more than 5,550 kilometres from the Kara Sea off the north coast of Russia to the Bering Strait, the Northern Sea Route has long been known to be the shortest passage between Europe and Asia, but shipping potential was limited by the fact that the route became blocked by thick ice in winter.

But the recent experimental voyage of the Christophe de Margerie, an LNG tanker that left Russia fully loaded in early January bound for China, has proven its viability. The ship returned to its home port last week, this time accompanied by the nuclear-powered 50 Let Pobedy icebreaker (no icebreaker was needed on the trip out). 

The voyage was the second in the past 10 months for the tanker, which made the identical trip in May, a month earlier into spring than normal.

For Yury Trutnev, Russia’s deputy prime minister and a member of the supervisory board for the state-owned nuclear corporation that manages the route, the trip—and the ice loss that allowed for it—heralds economic potential. “I am confident that changes in the ice situation and the improvement of marine technologies create new conditions for its development,” he told Bloomberg. 

Likewise looking ahead to the opportunity that lies in the further collapse of the Arctic sea ice is Russia’s largest LNG producer, Novatek PJSC. That company is contemplating an early start to its shipping season this year—with plans to launch as early as May or April.



in Air & Marine, Arctic & Antarctica, Asia, Climate Impacts & Adaptation, Demand & Distribution, Fossil Fuels, Ice Loss & Sea Level Rise, Jurisdictions, Oil & Gas, Supply Chains & Consumption

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

Bernard Spragg/flickr
Energy Politics

$12.3B in Profit over 3 Months as Big Fossils Reject Federal Emissions Cap

August 11, 2022
2
Σ64/Wikimedia Commons
Hydrogen

Global Push for Hydrogen Sidesteps Knowledge Gaps on Climate Impacts

August 11, 2022
3
Protect The Planet
Pipelines / Rail Transport

Trans Mountain Work Site Blocks Early Salmon Run on Coquihalla River, Local Observers Say

August 11, 2022
1

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

Joseph Brent/Flickr

Green Hydrogen Will Cost Less than Fossil-Fuelled ‘Blue’, Shell CEO Admits

August 7, 2022
690
Early stages of construction on the Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor in France

Failing French Nuclear Plants Drive Up Electricity Costs as Heat Waves Cut Production

August 8, 2022
393
François GOGLINS/wikimedia commons

Corrosion Problem Shutters Half of France’s Nuclear Reactors

August 2, 2022
1.3k
Brian Jeffery Beggerly/Wikimedia Commons

China’s Latest Renewables Plan Could Bridge Global 1.5°C Gap, Expert Says

August 9, 2022
203
openthegovernment.org

BREAKING: U.S. Senate Passes Historic $369B Climate Package

August 8, 2022
372
/MaxPixels

‘Substantial Damage’, No Injuries as Freight Train Hits Wind Turbine Blade

May 25, 2022
5.7k

Recent Posts

Bernard Spragg/flickr

$12.3B in Profit over 3 Months as Big Fossils Reject Federal Emissions Cap

August 11, 2022
2
Σ64/Wikimedia Commons

Global Push for Hydrogen Sidesteps Knowledge Gaps on Climate Impacts

August 11, 2022
3
Protect The Planet

Trans Mountain Work Site Blocks Early Salmon Run on Coquihalla River, Local Observers Say

August 11, 2022
1

Focus Blame for Climate Change on Fossils and Governments, Ecoanalytics Advises

August 11, 2022
3
TheKurgan/Wikipedia

Ontario Pension Giant May Be Getting the Memo on Fossil Divestment, Members Say

August 11, 2022
1
@stan_sdcollins/Twitter

Stranded Communities Hope for Emergency Food Supplies as Newfoundland Wildfires Rage

August 11, 2022
3
Next Post
Ken Eckert/Wikipedia

Communities in B.C.’s West Kootenays Sign on to New 100% Renewables Playbook

The Energy Mix

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}