The Arc7 ice-class module carrier Audax delivered a massive prefabricated plant module for Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2 facility via the Northern Sea Route (NSR). The ship departed Tianjin, China on December 29th, entered the NSR at Cape Dezhnev on January 25th, and arrived in Murmansk, Russia on February 17th. In the past the NSR traditionally closes for cargo traffic in December and reopens in early summer.
However, due to declining ice extent the shipping season has been extended in recent years. According to Novatek this was the first time such a large cargo vessel traveled along the route in February.
Audax was escorted by icebreakers for part of the way to pass through sections of the NSR which traditionally hold the thickest ice. Ice conditions are particularly challenging this winter as the route saw severe freezing already in November.
Due to the size of Audax, icebreaker assistance in the route’s most challenging sections in the Chukchi, East Siberian and Kara Seas involved two nuclear icebreakers, Yamal and Arktika, widening the ice channel, Novatek explained in a statement.
