Northern Sea Route should not be expensive
The costs of using the service of nuclear icebreakers on the Northern Sea Route through the Northeast Passage should not be particularly higher than the costs of passing through the Suez Canal, says Atomflot.
Vyacheslav Ruksha, General Director of Atomflot, the company that operates Russia’s nuclear icebreakers, believes that many cargo owners will prefer to use the Northern Sea Route if the costs are just a little higher than in the Suez Canal, web site Portnews.ru reports.
In the summer period part of Atomflot’s fleet lies idle, and the more vessels that use the Northern Sea Route, the cheaper each icebreaker escort will be. The most powerful icebreakers can follow more than one tanker at the time, Ruksha says.
As BarentsObserver reported, the first high-tonnage tanker to take the Northern Sea Route from Europe to Asia is now underway. The tanker – Sovcomflot owned “Baltica” loaded with 70 000 tons of gas condensate – has spent less time to cover the distance from Murmansk to the Chukotka Peninsula than expected.
The Northern Sea Route gives a 45 percent time saving compared to the southern route through the Suez Canal, according to General Director of Sovcomflot Sergey Frank. Next year the company plans to use Suezmax and Panamax class tankers on the route.
Novatek, Russia’s largest independent gas producer and owner of the cargo onboard “Baltica”, says that the cost of transporting cargo from the White Sea to Asia on the traditional, southern route is approximately 50 USD per ton. Already in 2011 Novatek estimates to save 10-15 percent on transport by using the Northern Sea Route.
Read also: Bulk from Kirkenes to China via the Arctic
