Northern Sea Route to Close Early This Year Due to Persistent Winter Ice

The summer shipping window on Russia’s Northern Sea Route is closing earlier than expected, with ships rushing to complete their transits before the route shuts down in the next three weeks. Unlike previous years, winter ice has persisted in the eastern section of Russia’s Arctic coastal waterways, leading to an early start of ice formation in the Laptev, East Siberian, and Chukchi Seas. Non-ice class ships must exit the waterway by October 15, a few weeks earlier than planned, while ships with light and medium ice classifications have until October 20th and 31st, respectively.

In October 2021, a serious incident almost occurred when winter sea ice drifted into the main shipping channel, trapping multiple ships for over a month. Icebreakers, including the nuclear-powered ship Jamal, were dispatched to free the stranded ships, a process that took more than six weeks to complete. This year’s early shutdown serves as a precautionary measure to avoid a similar situation, ensuring that ships are safely out of the Northern Sea Route before ice conditions become hazardous.

In the Far East, container ships, oil tankers, bulk carriers, and LNG tankers are frequent travelers through the route. Despite challenges posed by perennial ice around Wrangel Island, a nuclear icebreaker has maintained the shipping route open for most of the summer, ensuring safe passage for vessels. Towards the western end of the route, the first conventional Panamax container ship in the Arctic and a Capesize bulk carrier without an ice rating are racing to complete their journeys before the route closes for the season.

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