Northern Sea Route sees more than 80 percent increase in goods shipped so far this year

Shipments from oil and gas projects in Yamal accounted for the vast majority of the goods.

By Atle Staalesen, The Independent Barents Observer August 28, 2018
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In a 2017 file photo, the Christophe de Margerie, an ice-class tanker fitted out to transport liquefied natural gas, is docked in Arctic port of Sabetta, Yamalo-Nenets district, Russia. LNG and oil shipments from Sabetta and Novy Port have accounted for a boom in shipping along the Northern Sea Route this year. (Olesya Astakhova / Reuters File Photo)

A total of 9.95 million tons of goods have so far this year been shipped to and from ports on the Northern Sea Route. That’s an increase of 81 percent, the top official in Russia’s Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport said in an interview with PortNews.

By August 24, a total of 9.95 millions of goods had been shipped on the route, compared with 5.5 million tons in the same period in 2017.

The Novy Port project in the Yamal Peninsula accounted for the biggest part of the goods. A total of 4.35 million tons of oil were shipped from the oil terminal in the period. The port of Sabetta accounted for the second biggest share with its 3.95 million tons of LNG shipped out.

A total of 600 ships entered the waters of the Northern Sea Route in the period, of them 60 carrying foreign flags. The Northern Sea Route includes the areas between the Novaya Zemlya in the west to the Bering Strait in the east.

Data from the Northern Sea Route Administration show that on August 24 there were a total of 81 ships located in the waters of the Arctic seaway. Most of them were located in the area around the Yamal Peninsula. There were also oil tankers and LNG carriers shipping across the eastern part of the route towards the Pacific Ocean.