The bulk carrier Gingo has become the first capesize ship to sail the Northern Sea Route, reports Safety4sea citing Russian media.
In particular, on 6th September 2023, the nuclear icebreaker “Taimyr” and the universal nuclear icebreaker “Sibir” of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Atomflot”, in the waters of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) completed the pilotage of the bulk carrier Gingo, with a cargo of 164.5 thousand tons of iron ore concentrate.
For the first time, the enterprise’s icebreakers carried out an operation to navigate a vessel with a deadweight of more than 164,500 tonnes from west to east, on a 13-day voyage.
The NSR has grown to be a significant transport route for the export of metals, oil, LNG, mineral fertilisers, and other goods, with freight traffic increasing from 4 million tonnes in 2014 to 34 million tonnes in 2022, according to Russia’s Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic.
Russia is looking to increase the capacity of the NSR to up to to 100 million tonnes by 2026 and 200 million tonnes by 2030.
To remind, OCIMF has released a paper which outlines the challenges and best practices that operators must consider when passing through NSR. For the safe navigation through the Arctic waters, OCIMF highlights that the type of vessel, operational procedures and personal preparation must be planned in advance.
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Source: Safety4sea
