Global Warming Opens Up Arctic Passage

Having dispatched their cargo at the Siberian port of Yamburg, the Beluga Fraternity and the Beluga Foresight set off once again for warmer waters. During their journey to the Siberian port, the ships had to cut through the occasional ice shelf. The vessels have now become the first to ever have concluded a commercial trip along this route.

Verena Beckhusen, a spokeswoman for the Bremen-based Beluga shipping company, explained: “It is a very efficient sea route and a direct one between Asia and Europe, or vice versa. We have reduced the voyage time by nine days in total and the total voyage distance by about a third, some 7,700 nautical miles.”

She predicted that the route would become popular not only because of the shorter distance but also because of the reduced costs: “Taking the northern sea route with those two ships saves up to 200 tonnes of bunker (fuel) -- at the current price of around 450 US dollars that sums up to 90,000 US dollars saved already.”

Fewer C02 emissions

Another reason for this route possibly becoming more popular is that it causes fewer C02 emissions. Perhaps because of this, there have been few complaints from environmental activists about the use of the route.

But Dr Iris Menn who is part of the Greenpeace research team on board the Arctic Sunrise vessel, which is currently between Greenland and Norway, sounded a word of caution: “I think it is a balance that you need to find. On the one hand, they will save a lot of oil and will have less emissions of carbon dioxide but there is also a risk of an oil accident.”

“There must be strict guidelines for shipping through this route. There might even be the idea that oil ships should not be allowed to take this route -- normal cargo vessels, which are in a good shape and follow strict rules, might be OK but oil tankers are a high risk”

Not an alternative to Suez Canal route

Experts say that an oil spill could turn out to be a major disaster for the Arctic sea life. But international shipping companies have assured that they will comply with the highest safety and environmental standards when using the Arctic route.

In any case, the route will only be operational for part of the year despite global warming and will never be an alternative to the main shipping route between Asia and Europe, said Beckhusen: “We are talking about a time frame of six to eight weeks in total. It is not a common route that can be any competition to the Suez Canal.”

Although the Arctic shipping route has been called an instant success, it remains to be seen how global climate change will impact other shipping routes.

Author: Pukhraj Choudhary
Editor: Anne Thomas