Neste Oil tankers have been two of a number of ships to cross the treacherous Northeast Passsage this year.
The Northeast Passage (red) and the traditional Suez Canal route (yellow). |
The route, between Murmansk in Russia and the Pacific Ocean, had a reputation as one of the most difficult maritime routes in the world due to the icefloes encountered on the route through the Arctic.
However, since Neste oil's ships became the first Western commercial vessels to make the journey from Europe to Asia in 1997, and subsequent crossings in the opposite direction more recently by other commercial ships, a number of vessels each year are now making the 11,500km journey.
Amongst them were fully laden Neste Oil tankers Stena Poseidon and Palva in September this year. However, there is a degree of irony in that crude oil has perhaps helped to make the passage possible. The Arctic pack ice has reduced dramatically over the past twenty years, arguably as a result of global warming and 'greenhouse gases'.
In a further environmental twist, the Northeast Passage provides a route more than one third shorter than the traditional trans-ocean journey through the Suez Canal. The Neste ships took just 20 days at 13 knots to cross from Murmansk to the Pacific en route to South Korea and China, thus reducing fuel consumption and emissions for the giant tankers.
With less ice in the region and better marine technology, such as nuclear-powered icebreakers, the possibility of year-round access to the Northeast Passage is now being suggested.