Supertanker sets speed record on Northern Sea Route
During the past month, maritime commerce has been setting one record after another along the Northern Sea Route. The speed record has been broken for the second time, now by the largest tanker ever to sail through the passage.
The first supertanker ever to take the short-cut from Europe to Asia, the 162,000 dwt Suezmax-class “Vladimir Tikhonov”, has sailed from Novaya Zemlya to the Bering Strait in only seven and a half day. This is half a day shorter than the previous record, set by the 74,000 dwt Panamax-class “STI Heritage” earlier this month.
“Vladimir Tikhonov” was chartered by Novatek, Russia’s second largest producer of natural gas, and transported 120 000 tons of gas condensate bound for markets in Southeast Asia. The tanker held an average speed of 14 knots, news.mail.ru reports.
Another record will soon be set on the route when the largest ever bulk carrier , the 75,600 dwt “Sanko Odyssey” leaves Murmansk this week loaded with 72 000 tons of iron ore bound for China. It is also the first time a Japanese shipping company sends a vessel through the Northeast Passage.
