In a desperate effort to deliver a power plant to a Russian project in the Arctic before winter arrives, two large Chinese ships, Ocean 28 and Nan Feng Zhi Xing, are slowly making their way through thickening sea ice on the Northern Sea Route. Recently, a fierce storm in the Bering Sea caused delays, allowing more ice to form in the Chukchi Sea, making their journey even harder.
These ships are traveling through broken ice that is about 10-30 cm thick. However, only one of them, Nan Feng Zhi Xing, is equipped with an ice classification, meaning it’s designed to handle icy conditions. On Tuesday, Russian officials closed part of the route to ships without ice-class ratings due to worsening ice conditions. This closure left the two Chinese vessels without the escort of the nuclear icebreaker Sibir, which had been helping ships navigate the icy waters but departed from the area that day.
A Dangerous Precedent
Ocean 28 has become part of a troubling trend: more and more vessels are ignoring safety rules on this route, and it seems Russia is looking the other way. Several LNG (liquefied natural gas) carriers and oil tankers have already passed through these dangerous icy waters this year, suggesting that getting oil and gas products to China is taking priority over safety in Arctic shipping.
The journey for Ocean 28 and Nan Feng Zhi Xing isn’t over yet. They still have about two weeks to go to reach the Arctic LNG 2 project on the Gydan peninsula. However, even tougher ice conditions await them in the Vilkitsky Strait, located about 1,500 nautical miles to the west. In this narrow passage, sea ice is starting to block the route, and wind might push even thicker ice into the shipping lane.
Meanwhile, a third heavy lift vessel, Hunter Star, is still in the Pacific Ocean, lagging about a week behind the other two. It will face even harsher ice when it arrives in the Vilkitsky Strait in early November.
Hope on the Horizon?
Hervé Baudu, an expert in Arctic shipping and a professor at the French Maritime Academy, believes there’s still a chance for the Sibir to return and help escort the three heavy cargo ships through the Northern Sea Route. But right now, Sibir is heading away from the convoy, moving west at a speed of 17 knots.
Instead, a Chinese tugboat named Hermes, which is designed for icebreaking, has joined Ocean 28 as a precaution in case it encounters difficulties. Even without an ice-class designation, Ocean 28 can push through thin and loose ice, but the real challenge will be avoiding larger ice floes. This is easier to manage during the day but becomes much more complicated at night, especially with winter approaching and daylight hours rapidly shrinking.
A Ticking Clock
As the Polar night descends upon the Arctic, the sun will soon disappear for long stretches, making navigation even more challenging. Photos taken by the crew of Sibir earlier this week show just how tough the conditions are for the two Chinese vessels.
Both ships likely don’t meet the Polar Code, which sets safety regulations for ships operating in icy waters, raising serious concerns about their journey. Will they make it through the icy waters and fulfill their mission before winter fully sets in? Only time will tell.
