Rosatom stated that the Northern Sea Route is safe for tankers without ice class

Rosatom representatives reported Financial Timesthat the Northern Sea Route is safe for tankers that do not have an ice class. This is how the state corporation commented on the possible risks of an oil spill after allowing the passage of the first vessels without ice class – the oil tankers Leonid Losa and NS Bravo – along the Northern Sea Route.

According to Rosatom representatives, improved navigation conditions make it possible to safely operate ships without an ice class in summer and autumn. The tankers were thoroughly checked before dispatch, the state corporation added, since environmental issues “remain a top priority.”

According to FT, at the end of last week Leonid Losa and NS Bravo (both, according to korabel.ru, part of the fleet of the Sovcomflot group of companies OJSC Novoship) left Murmansk for ports in eastern China. Each ship carries about 1 million barrels of oil.

FT interlocutors from environmental organizations spoke about the unpredictable natural conditions of the Arctic and the difficulties of eliminating the consequences of an oil spill in high latitudes. At the same time, shipping experts note that tankers without ice class can sail along the Northern Sea Route in September and October, “when the ice cover becomes thinnest after the summer months.”

After the introduction of sanctions against Russian oil, supplies from the Russian Federation were reoriented to the Asian market. Sailing from the port of Primorsk to China via the Suez Canal takes 45 days. The Northern Sea Route reduces travel time by 10 days.

In May, the head of Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, proposed directing Russian oil exports from the Baltic ports to the Northern Sea Route, since this is “the most attractive and safe route” under sanctions. Experts noted that there are not enough ice-class tankers for year-round shipments on this route.

Read more in the Kommersant article. “This is the Northern Sea Route”.

Lusine Balasyan