“MV Nordic Barents” is of minimal ice-class and should not be allowed to sail the Northern Sea Route at this time of year, news agency North-News.ru reports, citing the web site Maritime Bulletin.
“MV Nordic Barents” will leave Kirkenes in Northern Norway within the next few weeks and head for China, loaded with 41 000 tons of iron ore from the Sydvaranger iron-ore mines.
According to Russian media, the carrier is registered as ice-class A5 E3 in the Germanischer Lloyd, which corresponds to class L1 in the Russian ships register. Vessels of this class are only allowed to sail in the Arctic during the summer navigation period. “MV Nordic Barents” should therefore not be allowed to sail the Northern Sea Route in September.
According to information from the Norwegian Tschudi Shipping Company, partner in the project, “MV Nordic Barents” is an ice-class 1A ship. This is the highest conventional ice-class, and the only ship classification that the Russian authorities would allow for this transit, BarentsObserver reported.
The tanker “SCF Baltica” – recently completing the Northern Sea Route – had a considerable more dangerous cargo (70 000 tons of gas condensate), but it was of a higher ice class and was a much younger ship than “MV Nordic Barents”, Nord-West news reads.
Other issues that worries Russian media is that the bulk carrier will be staffed by foreigners who might never have sailed in Arctic waters before, and that the vessel will go straight from Norway to China without entering a Russian port for inspection first.
