• 2020 December 16 16:05

    Weathernews Inc. Global Ice Center announced its review of Arctic Ocean ice conditions during 2020

    Weathernews Inc. Global Ice Center announced its review of Arctic Ocean ice conditions during 2020, the company said in its release.

    Sea ice is usually at its peak surface area in February or March of each year, and at its smallest in September. This summer, the Arctic region saw record-breaking heat, and the sea ice area around Russia decreased more significantly than usual. In addition, the years smallest sea ice area was observed in September, at 3.55 million square kilometers, which was the second smallest since the start of observations in 1979.

    The Northeast Passage (Russian side) of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) was open this year for 88 days — the longest period it has ever stayed open. On the other hand, the Northwest Passage (Canadian side) did not open this year. For voyages between Asia and Europe, using the NSR reduces not only transportation costs but also CO2 emissions.

    Since 2011, Weathernews has provided Polar Routing Service to support the safe operation of vessels navigating the Arctic Ocean.

    This summer the Arctic experienced record-breaking high temperatures, accelerating the melting of sea ice. According to the Colorado State University, the average temperature in May, July and August north of 70°N was the highest on record, and the average temperature in June was the second highest on record. Also, in Verkhoyansk, which is located in the Russian Far East, the highest temperature was observed at about 38 ° C in June, which is the highest on record. This high temperature region also spread to the Russian coast of the Arctic Ocean, accelerating the melting of sea ice that had spread there. In July, the temperature tended to increase even over the Arctic Ocean, and the highest temperature since the start of observations in 1979, 21.7 ° C, was observed in Longyearbyen in the Svalbard Islands. Due to such high temperatures in the Arctic, the sea ice area minimum was 3.55 million square kilometers on September 13.

    This was the second smallest sea ice area recorded since observations began in 1979, next to the record set in August 2012, which was influenced by a large-scale cyclone that developed over the Arctic Ocean. As a result of the melting of sea ice progressing faster than usual in the Laptev Sea and East Siberian Sea, which borders Russia, the Northeast Passage (Russian side) opened up on August 2, which was the earliest on record.

    The proprietary meteorological and oceanographic satellite WNISAT-1R, which was launched by Weathernews in 2017, was able to clearly confirm that there was no sea ice in the Vilkitsky Strait, and the Northeast Passage was open on August 1. The Northeast passage remained open until October 28. It was open for 88 days, the longest period it has ever stayed open.  On the other hand, the Northwest Passage (Canadian side) did not open this year due to sea ice remaining in the straits of the Canadian archipelagos.

    Regular use of the NSR has increased in recent years, and LNG carriers are actively transporting liquefied natural gas produced in the Arctic Ocean. For ships traveling between Asia and Europe, taking the NSR reduces the travel distance to about two-thirds that of traveling via the Suez Canal, and around half that of sailing via the Cape of Good Hope. Since 2011, Weathernews has provided Polar Routing Service to support the safe operation of vessels in the Arctic Ocean. In 2020, we provided support for 6 voyages, contributing to an emissions reduction of approximately 3,600 tons of CO2, compared to when the ships traveled via the Suez Canal.

    WeathernewsInc. was founded in 1986 and is one of the largest weather information companies in the world.


2024 November 2

18:06 Singapore’s first fully electric cargo vessel wins Green Ship Award at SRS Forum
17:20 VTTI looks to buy into LNG terminals in Asia
16:48 Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding signs contracts for 12 large container ships in the past 10 days
16:32 CHIMBUSCO secures its first LNG refueling service in Europe
15:46 SLB OneSubsea awarded subsea boosting contract for bp’s Kaskida project in Gulf of Mexico
15:24 Wilson Sons to start construction of three new eco-friendly tugboats in 2025
14:57 Rem Offshore holds keel laying ceremony for REM Pioneer
12:30 World's first conversion of large container ship to run on methanol successfully completed
11:52 New offshore platform taps into potential of heavy-oil reserves in China
11:24 HRDD completes desulphurization tower system conversion for a PCTC
09:48 TOWT launches its first cargo sailing ship in Le Havre

2024 November 1

18:00 Marlink to deploy Sealink NextGen hybrid solution on 26 tankers for Transpetro
17:38 Austal Australia delivers 8th Evolved Cape-class Patrol Boat to Royal Australian Navy
17:23 Acteon and Applied Fiber enter MoU to collaborate on mooring solutions
16:54 KOTUG International and Maritalia S.A. secure major marine services contract for bp’s Greater Tortue Ahmeyim gas project
16:24 BW LPG takes delivery of vessel BW Chinook from Avance Gas
15:44 HD Hyundai may nearly double shipbuilding capacity in Vietnam
15:24 Samsung Heavy Industries secures $390 mln contract for four Suezmax tankers
14:36 EU imposes duties on unfairly subsidised electric vehicles from China
14:23 Port of Montreal workers at two terminals start new strike
13:41 Chinese ports container volume rises 7.7 % from January to September of 2024
13:22 MOL, COSCO Co-host 6th Shanghai International LNG Shipping Forum
12:43 Global schedule reliability drops to 51.4% in September 2024
12:22 GTT secures technical services contract with Maran Tankers for eight LNG Dual-Fuel Suezmax vessels
11:45 MSC inks up $2.1bn container ship at the reborn shipyard Rongsheng Heavy Industries
11:28 China's first 'smart factory' for offshore oil, gas equipment fully operational
10:43 Yanmar completes land-based demonstration testing of a hydrogen engine for power generation in coastal vessels
10:23 Samsung Heavy wins W358 bln LNG ship order in Asia
09:58 EU greenhouse gas emissions fell by over 8% in 2023

2024 October 31

18:00 MAN receives multiple orders for MAN B&W G95ME-LGIM Mk 10.5 methanol engines to power a series of VLCV
17:23 The Marechal Duque de Caxias platform ship starts producing in the pre-salt layer
17:06 IWS Seawalker CSOV makes it 1000 ship designs from Kongsberg Maritime
16:45 “K” Line Wind Service and Japan Marine United sign agreement for Phase 2 of NEDO’s Green Innovation Fund Project
16:04 Wärtsilä introduces its innovative NextDF feature for the Wärtsilä 25DF dual-fuel engine
15:45 MOL plans to change charter contract for vessels related to Russia business
15:44 MABUX: Bunker price trends in the world's four largest hubs, Oct 8 - Nov 1, 2024
15:23 HHLA raises expectations for fiscal year 2024
14:59 Major fire extinguished at UK nuclear submarine yard
14:16 AD Ports Group and Somali Ministry of Fisheries & Blue Economy sign MoU for maritime sector development
13:44 Maersk reports Q3 results
12:43 UECC orders four advanced multi-fuel battery hybrid pure car and truck carriers from China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Nanjing
11:39 Japanese сonsortium produces design concept for eco-friendly VLCC
11:12 TMC Compressors bags contract to supply four LNG carriers
10:46 Panama Canal operating costs down 5% in FY2024
09:29 HIF Global and Antarctica21 promote sustainable tourism with e-Fuels

2024 October 30

18:00 East Java Multipurpose Terminal partners with Sinarmas LDA Usaha Pelabuhan
17:22 Container traffic at Iranian ports up 5% in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year
17:06 CIMC SOE delivers second 7,600 cbm LNG bunkering vessel to Seaspan Energy
16:42 Klaveness Combination Carriers makes first move into wind with bound4blue eSAIL system on CABU III newbuild
16:23 Transport workers' strike in Argentina to affect port operations
15:59 South Korea's seaport container cargo up 3.5 pct in Q3
15:46 Stena Line marks significant milestones in build of NewMax ships, Stena Futura and Stena Connecta
14:55 DNV and LR grant AiP to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for ammonia duel-fuel large container vessel
14:45 Jiaxing Port adds a new sea-river intermodal operation area
13:32 Maersk signs long-term methanol sourcing deal
13:08 MOL and Pyxis sign Collaboration Agreement for development and market expansion of electric vessels in Singapore and Japan
12:40 AD Ports Group and the General Department of Vietnam Customs sign MoU
12:21 TE H2, CIP, and A.P. Møller Capital Partner for a large-scale project in the Kingdom of Morocco
11:40 ClassNK issues AiP for Autonomous Navigation Assistance System developed by Samsung Heavy Industries
11:20 MacGregor launches Carbon Calculator
10:55 Russian seaports in Q3, 2024: Infographics and Analytics
10:30 World's first ammonia-fuel dual-fuel bulk carrier begins construction
10:09 Erik Thun launches the next-generation Lake Vanern Max vessel
09:03 SCHOTTEL receives an order to supply azimuth thrusters for four new escort tugs for Saltchuk Marine

2024 October 29

18:00 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announces selections for nearly $3 bln of investments in Clean Ports
17:34 Asyaport becomes first Turkish port to provide shore power to container ships
17:00 Port of Los Angeles awarded $412 million grant from U.S. EPA for zero-emission transformation
16:42 Oil spill occurred during bunkering operations at the Port of Singapore
16:10 World’s first electric hydrofoil ferry line takes off in Stockholm
15:46 Wallenius Wilhelmsen signs five-year, $766 million deal