An ice-breaking LNG carrier is sailing eastbound through the Northern Sea Route (NSR) in what is the first summer shipment through this section of Arctic sea passage in 2022.
Kpler data shows the 172,600-cbm Nikolay Yevgenov (built 2019) left the Sabetta terminal at the Novatek-led Yamal LNG plant on 15 June.
No destination has been given but the vessel is shown with an estimated arrival time of 6 July.
Eikland Energy data service iGIS/LNG said the 60MW nuclear-powered ice-breaker Sibir (built 2021) was waiting for the LNG carrier in the Vilkitsky Strait. But it remains unclear as to whether it will escort the Arc7 vessel further.
Russia re-opened the NSR for LNG shipments in the identical week in 2021.
But in 2020, Yamal LNG’s flagship vessel, the 172,600-cbm Christophe de Margerie (built 2017), left almost a month earlier in mid-May, as Russia trialled extending the navigable season for the eastbound journey on the Arctic route.
Russia has been trying to extend the sailing season for LNG carriers moving through the NSR.
In early 2021 Nikolay Yevgenov was one of two LNG carriers making pioneering NSR voyages eastbound in January and February without ice breaker assistance, delivering Yamal LNG cargoes to China.
But the vessel sustained damage to one of its azipod propulsion units en route and returned via the Suez Canal for repairs.
While record-breaking temperatures in 2020 saw the NSR ‘open’ — in that the passage is largely ice-free for shipping — for the longest recorded period to date, 2021 saw tougher ice conditions which continued through the winter.
In early 2022 one of the Arc7 LNG carriers serving Yamal LNG, the 172,600-cbm Vladimir Vize (built 2018), struggled in heavy ice conditions at the eastern end of the NSR to make a return voyage in ballast from China. The vessel departed China’s Rudong LNG terminal around 6 January but did not arrive at Sabetta until late March.
Russia’s war in Ukraine may also be affecting shipments.
Some commentators have suggested that Russia has been concentrating on shipping cargoes westbound into Europe while these are still permitted under existing sanctions amid expectations that this window could close in future.
With the construction of Russia’s second large liquefaction project, Arctic LNG 2, delayed by sanctions, the country’s development plans for exports through the NSR will also likely be scaled back.
Russia has said it wants to see the NSR open to year-round navigation from 2024.
