Sea Trade Sea Change

This is a not so trivial sea trade change that needs to be noted.

The 100,000 tons tanker “Baltica” left Murmansk on Saturday loaded with gas condensate for China. This is the first time a high-tonnage tanker takes the Northern Sea Route from Europe to Asia.

The tanker will be followed by no less than three nuclear powered ice breakers on the journey, Vesti reports. During the two weeks long sail, the crew will gather information on ice conditions in the area. This data will be used to estimate the commercial benefit from using this route compared to the more traditional routes in the south.

The transport is ordered by the company Novatek, Russia’s largest independent gas producer.

Sailing along the Northern Sea Route is seen as increasingly attractive by shipping companies because of the retreating ice and subsequently longer shipping season.

This route will cut ~5,000 miles from usual route taken, and avoids all the trouble spots in the world. If this turns out to be successful, the question is how much can the Europeans save by sending ships around Canada to Japan and China - and thus open a new, less expensive trade route between northern Asia and Europe.