Nuclear-powered icebreaker Taimyr and multipurpose nuclear-powered icebreaker Sibir of FSUE Atomflot completed the operation on escorting Capesize bulker Gingo along the Northern Sea Route on 6 September 2023, near Cape Dezhnev. The ship is loaded with 164.5 thousand tonnes of iron-ore concentrate. It was the first operation on providing icebreaker assistance to a ship of over 169,000-dwt from the west to the east, says Atomflot.
The operation was held in two phases. First, icebreaker Taimyr ensured safe transition of the ship across the Kara Sea. Then the ship sailed without the assistance across the Laptev Sea. In the East Siberian Sea, the bulker was assisted by nuclear-powered icebreaker Sibir.
The Northern Sea Route is quite popular with cargo carriers. Being aware of the weather and ice conditions, they can plan the most comfortable and safe route for a ship... The large-tonnage bulker passed the Northern Sea Route in 13 days. It should be noted that a voyage via the Suez canal would take the ship twice as much time,” commented Andrey Tenitsky, Advisor to the General Director of FSUE Atomflot.
The route under icebreaker assistance was as long as 620 nautical miles, the speed – 10 knots.
According to an earlier report of IAA PortNews, iron-ore concentrate was loaded onto the Gingo in Commercial Port of Murmansk. It has been the largest shipload transported by a bulker along the Northern Sea Route.
The Northern Sea Route is a single transport system in the Russian Arctic sector. It stretches along the northern coasts of Russia across the seas of the Arctic Ocean (Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukchi seas). The route links the European ports of Russia with the mouths of navigable rivers in Siberia and the Far East. In August 2022, a plan for the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) until 2035 was approved. The plan includes over 150 activities with total financing nearing RUB 1.8 trillion.
According to the plan, the annual cargo traffic on the Northern Sea Route is to reach 80 million by 2024, 150 million tonnes by 2030, 220 million tonnes – by 2035.