Russian shipping convoy makes first winter crossing of Northern Sea route

By bne IntelliNews January 11, 2017

A convoy of Russian ships crossed the Northern Sea route westwards for the first time in winter conditions, the state-controlled shipping company Sovcomflot reported on January 10.

The 3,860 kilometre voyage that started on the Bering Strait on December 21 finished in the Kara Sea on January 3, negotiating harsh Arctic ice conditions and the constant polar night.

Enabled by the participation of Russia's nuclear-powered icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy, the successful convoy has potential future implications for commercial shipping routes. The Northern Route connects Europe to the Far East without having to circumnavigate the much longer southern route around Africa and India or via the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal.

Sovcomflot, one of Russia's leading maritime shipment companies, is among the main state assets slated for privatisation next year, alongside VTB Bank. It was originally expected to be sold this year, but the government announced the postponement of the privatisation in August.

During the crossing the company employed the shuttle tanker Shturman Ovtsyn, one of the hydrocarbon carriers built on a long-term contract with Russia's Gazprom Neft oil major.

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