The ship passed 6.5 thousand nautical miles along the Northern Sea Route
Norilsk Nickel says its Arctic container carrier Monchegorsk has completed an experimental voyage on Shanghai – Murmansk – Saint-Petersburg route. According to the company’s Telegram channel, the ship passed 6.5 thousand nautical miles along the Northern Sea Route from the East China Sea to the Gulf of Finland. It took 34 days.
The diesel-electric ship of Nornickel’s own fleet carried copper and other metal products of the company. The container ship moved independently breaking through ice of up to two meters thick without icebreaker assistance. Upon completion of unloading in Shanghai the ship proceeded to the port of Zhoushan for a scheduled dock repair. The ship then returned to Saint-Petersburg with a batch of Chinese products.
MMC Norilsk Nickel is a diversified mining and metallurgical company, the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel and a major producer of platinum and copper. The company also produces cobalt, rhodium, silver, gold, iridium, ruthenium, selenium, tellurium, sulphur and other products. The production units of Norilsk Nickel Group are located at the Norilsk Industrial District, on the Kola Peninsula and Zabaykalsky Krai in Russia as well as in Finland and South Africa.
Norilsk Nickel's fleet consists of six ice-class sea-going vessels: five dry cargo ships and one tanker.