Ibon wrote:I have asked over a dozen educated Panamanians if they are concerned about the opening of the Northwest Passage. I just was on a flight with an American construction engineer and his wife who were returning to Panama to go back to work on their jobs with the canal expansion and I asked them as well if there was much talk amongst their colleagues about this topic.
Nobody I have asked this question to even knew this was a risk. Amazing how clueless the educated public is as well. You would think that this would be at the top of the list of risk assesment here in Panama.
2014 the canal expansion will be complete and the new mega ships will start passage. The first one through will be a huge event here. The older locks were maintained and will continue to be used.
Investors are expecting huge returns on their investment.......
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
The total cargo transported on the NSR this year is 1 261 545 tons – a 53 percent increase from 2011, when 820 789 tons was shipped on the route.
25 of the vessels sailed NSR eastbound, starting from Murmansk, Arkhangelsk or Baydaratskaya Bay. 21 sailed in a westbound direction, a report from Rosatomflot reads. The report is given to BarentsObserver by the Centre for High North Logistics, an international knowledge hub on Arctic transport and logistics for businesses.
Petroleum products constitute the largest cargo group. A total of 894 079 tons of diesel fuel, gas condensate, jet fuel, LNG and other petrol products has been transported on 26 vessels in 2012. 18 of the tankers sailed from west to east, eight in the opposite direction. There have been no super tankers on the NSR this season – the largest tanker was the Norwegian “Marika”, which transported 66 552 tons of jet fuel from Korea to Finland in August.
The second largest cargo group was iron ore and coal, which was transported along the route six times.
The content of ARCTIS and the presentation of information provided will be tailor-made for the needs of the maritime-logistics and resource exploitation industries in particular. ARCTIS will strive to provide up-to-date and high quality information on the Arctic and play a key role in informing our users about recent developments, operational conditions, technical improvements, and opportunities related to shipping and logistics in Arctic waters. In other words, ARCTIS will strive to be the preferred gateway to know-how for businesses, governments and the research community itself on Arctic shipping and logistics.
ARCTIS will pursue a dissemination role for the international research community by making research results and results of demonstrations/case studies known to key stakeholders in as user-friendly and transparent way as possible. The aim is to make scientific reports searchable and more understandable for the shipping and logistics industry so latest research results can be included in their decision-making process and business development.
This might contribute to more economically viable, doable, and environmentally friendly transport and logistics solutions for the Arctic.
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Gas tanker Ob River attempts first winter Arctic crossing
...
"You are able to reach a highly profitable market by saving 40% of the distance, that's 40% less fuel used as well."
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
sparky wrote:.
the Siberian towns survived only because of massive government subsidies
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Newfie wrote:Just a few thoughts about above posts..
Canada ice service has some routing data for working in the arctic but it is a subscription and fairly expensive
US ice breaker fleet is a joke....old, small, obsolete
Canada ice breakers not much better. CCG is civil service, not military
Russian has by far the biggest and best ice breakers
Ibon wrote:Canada and the US are staring at an economic opportunity if they upgrade their ice breakers and charge a fee per ship by keeping a shipping lane open and free of ice
The Northern Sea Route administration has so far given 54 vessels permission to sail the route in 2013.
This year’s sailing season on the Northern Sea Route between Europe and Russia will probably be the busiest one ever. The first vessels to take the Arctic shortcut this summer will leave Murmansk at the end of June.
The Northern Sea Route Administration has so far received 89 applications to use the Northern Sea Route (NSR). 54 vessels have so far been given permission to sail along the route, reports the Barents Observer, citing the administration's (Russian language) web-site.
There has been a tenfold increase in the number of vessels using the NSR during the last couple of years. In 2012 46 vessels sailed the whole route, compared to 34 in 2011 and only four in 2010.
Source: Barents Observer
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Experts believe that the intensity of navigation along the Northern Sea Route in the next eight years could rise 30-fold, and by 2030, a quarter of freight traffic between Europe and Asia may pass through Arctic waters.
According to the Assistant Director of Atomflot Mikhail Belkin, development of the Northern Sea Route Russia promises great benefits, Scientific American journal reports. The Northern Sea Route is not a rival to the Suez Canal, but it is a good seasonal supplement... and has the potential for rapid growth,” said Belkin.
Today, the Arctic shipping rates look insignificant in comparison with more traditional routes: about 1.5 million tonnes of cargo along the Northern Sea Route in the past year, while approximately 740 million tonnes pass through the Suez Canal. However, Belkin believes that by 2021, the turnover of the Northern Sea Route could total around 40 million tonnes. Earlier, the chief of staff of Atomflot naval operations, Vladimir Arutyunyan, the predicted annual growth of freight traffic is only up to 15 tonnes by 2020.
The use of the route in the Arctic Ocean is currently limited, not only because of ice, but because of inadequate infrastructure. However, in Russia, there is active construction of Arctic ports and technical rescue services along the route.
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
The total cargo transported on the NSR last year was 1 261 545 tons – a 53 percent increase from 2011, when 820 789 tons was shipped on the route. According to conservative estimates the amount will grow to 1, 5 million tons in 2013.
The Northern Sea Route is a shipping lane officially defined by Russian legislation from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean specifically running along the Russian Arctic coast from Murmansk on the Barents Sea, along Siberia, to the Bering Strait and Far East.
The entire route lies in Arctic waters and parts are free of ice for only two months per year. Before the beginning of the 20th century it was called the Northeast Passage, and is still sometimes referred to by that name.
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
C8 wrote:I wonder if all that shipping will have an effect of increasing melt via albedo reducing soot, oil and sewage discharge affecting chemical melt points, ships breaking dark lanes through thin ice and accelerating melt or wave action disrupting fragile ice, engines transmitting heat through the water? Every little bit probably makes a difference.
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
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