Christophe de Margerie completes NSR passage

Arctic liquefied natural gas carrier Christophe de Margerie has completed the eastbound transit of the Northern Sea Route.

The Arc7 ice-class vessel owned by Sovcomflot transited the eastbound ice-covered part of the NSR and reached Bering Strait in 12 days.

Russia’s largest independent natural gas producer Novatek noted in its statement the voyage across the NSR to the Bering Strait was 2.563 nautical miles long.

The voyage took place before the traditional start of the summer navigation season in average ice conditions, with the maximum ice thickness on the route reaching 1.3 meters.

Eastbound transportation of LNG along the NSR is not normally performed in May as this represents one of the most difficult months for navigation, Novatek noted in its statement on Monday.

The Christophe de Margerie LNG carrier left the port of Sabetta on May 18, 2020, passed the Ob Bay and a part of the Kara Sea without ice-breaker assistance and then met with Atomflot’s nuclear icebreaker Yamal, which escorted the tanker with ice navigation on the Еastern part of the NSR.

The tanker will deliver an LNG cargo produced at Novatek’s Yamal LNG to China.

Novatek’s head Leonid Mikhelson, said, “We are actively working to expand the eastbound navigation season for the NSR and looking forward to further development of State support for this trade route by increasing icebreaking capabilities as well as full-scale navigation and hydrographic assistance for shipping. This support allows us to significantly contribute to the annual cargo turnover along the Northern Sea Route by implementing our large-scale LNG projects to produce up to 70 million tons by 2030”.