Shipping through the Arctic has reached record levels as melting sea ice and pressure on global chokepoints push shipowners to find alternative routes. Voyages via the Northern Sea Route hit 133 last month, more than quadruple what they were in 2022, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, and up 46 per cent compared with August. Almost half of the transits were made by Russian-flagged ships. Voyages have also been made by Chinese ships seeking another way to European markets given the disruption in the Middle East and in the Red Sea.
“It’s worth watching how the use of this route develops as government and operators increasingly look for alternative shipping lanes with less exposure to geopolitical disruption,” said Bridget Diakun, maritime intelligence and research director at Lloyd’s List. The Chinese container ship Dubai Tower travelled from Qingdao to the UK port of Felixstowe via the Arctic in September, trimming its voyage time to 24 days as opposed to the 40 or more days it would take to sail via the Suez Canal or Cape of Good Hope.
The lower sea ice and increased pressure on chokepoints such as the Bab al-Mandeb Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea, which is currently threatened by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, are making the Northern Sea Route more appealing to shipowners. The strait has become a vital route for Saudi Arabian oil exports since Iran throttled shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in response to US strikes on the Islamic republic.
Liquefied natural gas carriers often use the route to reach Russia’s Yamal and Arctic LNG 2 gas plants, but there was also an uptick in bulk cargo vessels. The number of bulk carriers transiting the route was 29 in September, compared to 18 in August and a previous high of 12 in September last year. Insurance companies and environmentalists have warned that increasing use of the waterway could result in a major accident, with few search and rescue or clean-up capabilities in the region. Romain Troublé, executive director of the Tara Ocean Foundation, said there was also a risk that even minor oil spills would accelerate global warming effects as black drops on the ice would absorb sunlight and increase melting.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing