[Tanada]

http://www.dw.de/climate-change-could-e ... a-16914245
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ')But all those fears are tempered by the advantages of sailing along Russia's northern coast. A cargo vessel transiting from Murmansk to a port in China will use as much as 40 percent less fuel than if it followed the Suez Canal route, said Yoshinori Miura, head of operations for the Norwegian firm Det Norske Veritas (DNV) in Tokyo. "And for a ship that only has to go from Europe to a port in South Korea, the journey can be cut from 38 days to just 19 days," he said.
The ice breaker Vidar Viking Mar (Photo: dpa) Experts believe the ice cover will continue to decrease

Another advantage is that vessels emit far less pollution on the shorter route - carbon dioxide emissions could be reduced by 1.2 million tons a year by 2030 - while shipping firms are also able to avoid unstable parts of the world, such as waters off the Horn of Africa, where pirates regularly prey on merchant ships.

DNV recently conducted a study into the potential of the northern route and concluded that increasing demand will see transits increase to 500 a year by 2030 and 900 by 2050. There are clear benefits to businesses both in Europe and the Far East. China, Japan and South Korea were in May all granted observer status on the Arctic Council, the organization that sets policies on the region.

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'C')limate change will have both negative and positive impacts on the environment, economics and population of the Arctic region. Negative consequences of human activity change the environment, affect health and traditional way of life of local population. Positive effects of climate change also exist: heating costs reduce, and opportunities for agriculture, forestry navigation on the Northern Sea Route and extraction of mineral resources increase.

There was a clear consensus among participants that universities should become regional research centers and formulate an Arctic agenda: initiate research and infrastructure projects in collaboration with business and government, train professional personnel for work in the Arctic. Joint research projects are also important since they give an opportunity to unite efforts of all UArctic member institutions.

[Tanada]

http://asmp.morflot.ru/en/razresheniya/

As of July 17, 2013 Russia has granted transit permission to 213 ships on the Northern Sea Route through the Arctic this year. While the majority of the ships are Russian there are vessels from France, Norway, Germany, The UK and PRC also making the trip.

Makes me wonder when American shippers will catch onto using this route.

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')hen arriving in Amsterdam, presumably on September 11, the 19,000-ton vessel “Yong Sheng” will get its place in the history books as the first container-transporting vessel which made it transit along the Arctic shortcut between Asia and Europe. The vessel, operated by China's state-controlled Cosco Group, left a Chinese port on August 8 and is currently on its way towards the eastern part of the Russian Arctic.

According to Cosco, Asian goods could in few years be transported through the northern passage in significant volumes, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company, Cosco, is ranked the sixth largest container ship operator worldwide. The company, which is owned by the Chinese government, is also the biggest dry bulk shipping operator, as well as liner carrier, in China.

[sparky]

.
As a cherry on the cake , Greenpeace is getting into it now
from the Financial times
"Russia bars Greenpeace’s ‘Arctic Sunrise’ from Northern Sea Route "

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/1136d6da ... z2d1QSDe00
further news state than Greenpeace will proceed none the less
probably some action / reaction will happen ,
Greenpeace is , shall we say , notorious , for media coup .
Russian authorities are exceedingly ticklish about the sovereignty of their borders

[Newfie]

That is the NE passage. The situation on the NW passage is different, i think. It seems there is a fairly substantial blockage keeping small boats from making the passage. First time in several years.

You can follow discussion here

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f33 ... ost1313343

I vouch for Evans knowledge and he is obsessive about being correct.

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('sparky', '.')
As a cherry on the cake , Greenpeace is getting into it now
from the Financial times
"Russia bars Greenpeace’s ‘Arctic Sunrise’ from Northern Sea Route "

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/1136d6da ... z2d1QSDe00
further news state than Greenpeace will proceed none the less
probably some action / reaction will happen ,
Greenpeace is , shall we say , notorious , for media coup .
Russian authorities are exceedingly ticklish about the sovereignty of their borders

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'N')ever mind that Arctic sea ice rebounded 30 percent this year from its 2012 record low. (See related, "Summer Arctic Sea Ice Recovers From 2012, But Trend Is 'Decidedly' Down.") Seventy-one ships completed "transits," or complete journeys between the Barents Sea and the Bering Strait, up more than 50 percent from last year, according to Rosatomflot, Russia's state-operated nuclear-powered icebreaker fleet, which provides mandatory escort—for a fee. As recently as 2010, only four ships made the crossing. (Voice your opinion, "Arctic Development: What Do We Urgently Need to Know?")

A Year of Firsts

This year marked the first NSR transit for a container ship, and the premier voyages for vessels commissioned by China and South Korea.

Russia conducted naval exercises on the NSR for the second straight year, and capped the September flotilla with an announcement that the Kremlin would reopen an old Soviet Arctic military base.

[Newfie]

They are talking about the NE route, over Russia. The NW route is a whole different thing. The US has NO play in the NE route, that is ALL Russia.

[Subjectivist]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Newfie', 'T')hey are talking about the NE route, over Russia. The NW route is a whole different thing. The US has NO play in the NE route, that is ALL Russia.

[Newfie]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Subjectivist', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Newfie', 'T')hey are talking about the NE route, over Russia. The NW route is a whole different thing. The US has NO play in the NE route, that is ALL Russia.

[Tanada]

The Northern Sea Route has updated their ice forecast for the route during the June-August 2014 period.

http://www.arctic-lio.com/node/218


http://www.arctic-lio.com/images/news/2 ... 26wide.jpg

[ROCKMAN]

T - Your map doesn't show an ice problem west from the Kara Sea. Is that correct? If so it looks like a much easier sail for those Russian icebreaker LNG tankers from Yamal to reach the EU then heading to Asia

[Subjectivist]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ROCKMAN', 'T') - Your map doesn't show an ice problem west from the Kara Sea. Is that correct? If so it looks like a much easier sail for those Russian icebreaker LNG tankers from Yamal to reach the EU then heading to Asia

[ROCKMAN]

Thanks sub. That's what I was guessing. Given that France's Total is a big JV partner in the venture it seems like shipping to the EU might be the best way to go. The EU would still be dependent upon Russian NG but not by shipping it thru the Ukraine. It also opens up the UK as an alternate market. Between the LNG plant, 200 wells and all those icebreaking LNG tankers it's a huge investment. Someone needs to buy a lot of NG for a long time to make the economics.

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ROCKMAN', 'T') - Your map doesn't show an ice problem west from the Kara Sea. Is that correct? If so it looks like a much easier sail for those Russian icebreaker LNG tankers from Yamal to reach the EU then heading to Asia

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'R')ussian gas giant Gazprom has sent the first cargo with crude produced at the Prirazlomnoye offshore field -- the country's only Arctic offshore hydrocarbon project -- to the international market, the company said Friday.

"ARCO, or Arctic Oil, the new sort of crude produced offshore the Russian Artic has for the first time been supplied to the international market," Gazprom said in a statement.

The start of the Arctic crude deliveries has strengthened Russia's role as an international oil supplier, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said in the statement.

"We have raised the flexibility and stability of [Russian] crude supplies basically to any part of the world," Miller said.

A major European energy producer has bought the first 70,000 mt Prirazlomnoye cargo with delivery to Northwestern Europe under a direct supply contract, Gazprom said, providing no other details of the deal.

Earlier, representatives of Gazprom's oil arm, Gazprom Neft, which operates Prirazlomnoye, said the cargo was to be delivered to the Dutch port of Rotterdam.

As crude output at the field increases, part of the volumes will be sold under long-term supply agreements, Gazprom said, adding that in 2014 it plans to sell a total of over 300,000 mt of Prirazlomnoye crude.

The cargoes will be delivered to buyers by two tankers constructed specifically for transportation of the crude, according to Gazprom.

The sulfur content and the density of Prirazlomnoye crude is higher than another Russian crude grade, Urals, so the Arctic crude will trade at a discount to the blend, although the discount will likely be "insignificant," Gazprom Neft officials said earlier this year.

When the offshore field was launched in December, Gazprom said it planned to continue developing Arctic hydrocarbon reserves, such as fields in the West Siberian Yamal peninsula, based on the experience gained at Prirazlomnoye.

"There can be no doubt -- Gazprom will continue its activities in the Arctic," Miller said at the time.

Prirazlomnoye, located some 60 km offshore the Pechora Sea, is expected to reach its peak output of some 6 million mt/yer, or 120,000 b/d, by 2020.

The field contains recoverable crude reserves of over 70 million mt, located 2,300-2,700 m under the seabed.

[vtsnowedin]

The Northern sea route would put the oil delivery in Japan not Rotterdam. What BS is this?

[Subjectivist]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vtsnowedin', 'T')he Northern sea route would put the oil delivery in Japan not Rotterdam. What BS is this?

[ROCKMAN]

"...would put the oil delivery in Japan not Rotterdam." Looking at the map the route appears to be a two way street running from England to Alaska. Unless, of course, someone put up a "Do not enter" sign at Norway. LOL. http://www.dianaswednesday.com/wp-conte ... -Route.jpg