As previously reported, Sovcomflot is currently preparing for sailing on the Northern Sea Route. Now the Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin confirms that the sailing will take place in September, RIA Novosti reports.
Read also: First oil shipment planned for Northern Sea Route
Talking at a conference in Moscow last week, Minister Levitin said that the shipping company – Russia’s biggest – will conduct an experimental sailing operation with a big-scale tanker loaded with oil in September.
He also said that the trip will be made from Murmansk to ports in South-East Asia. The operation will be made with the assistance of icebreakers, Levitin said, RIA Novosti reports.
Sailing along the Northern Sea Route is seen as increasingly attractive by shipping companies because of the retreating ice and subsequently longer shipping season. As reported by BarentsObserver, the German Beluga company already last year sailed along the route unaccompanied by icebreakers.
Read also: First through Northeast Passage
The Northern Sea route is open for less than two months in the late summer when the ice is at its minimum. The period of possible sailing along Siberia’s northern coast is however increasing due to the rapid ongoing climate changes.
