Arctic sea routes boom as Gulf war and global warming divert shipping

{"text":[[{"start":8,"text":"Shipping through the Arctic has reached record levels as melting sea ice and pressure on global chokepoints push shipowners to find alternative routes."}],[{"start":16.5,"text":"Voyages via the Northern Sea Route hit 133 last month, more than quadruple what they were in 2022, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, and up 46 per cent compared with August."}],[{"start":28.8,"text":"Almost half of the transits were made by Russian-flagged ships. Voyages have also been made by Chinese ships seeking another way to European markets given the disruption in the Middle East and in the Red Sea. "}],[{"start":41.5,"text":"“It’s worth watching how the use of this route develops as government and operators increasingly look for alternative shipping lanes with less exposure to geopolitical disruption,” said Bridget Diakun, maritime intelligence and research director at Lloyd’s List."}],[{"start":55.75,"text":"The Chinese container ship Dubai Tower travelled from Qingdao to the UK port of Felixstowe via the Arctic in September, trimming its voyage time to 24 days as opposed to the 40 or more days it would take to sail via the Suez Canal or Cape of Good Hope."}],[{"start":72.3,"text":"Another ship belonging to the same company set out from Ningbo to Felixstowe using the same route on September 27."}],[{"start":80.05,"text":"September is typically the busiest month for Arctic sea routes as the ice is at its lowest ebb, allowing ships without icebreaker capabilities to transit. "}],[{"start":89.1,"text":"The northern sea ice suffered its largest single-year winter decline in 2025 since satellite records began and has remained at historic lows since, according to University of Southampton researchers."}],[{"start":101.5,"text":"The lower sea ice and increased pressure on chokepoints such as the Bab al-Mandeb Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea, which is currently threatened by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, are making the Northern Sea Route more appealing to shipowners. The strait has become a vital route for Saudi Arabian oil exports since Iran throttled shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in response to US strikes on the Islamic republic. "}],[{"start":127.15,"text":"Meanwhile the Panama Canal has suffered drought conditions this year."}],[{"start":131.45000000000002,"text":"Liquefied natural gas carriers often use the route to reach Russia’s Yamal and Arctic LNG 2 gas plants, but there was also an uptick in bulk cargo vessels that typically carry commodities like grains or iron ore. "}],[{"start":143.8,"text":"The number of bulk carriers transiting the route was 29 in September, compared to 18 in August and a previous high of 12 in September last year."}],[{"start":154.3,"text":"A record number of crude oil tankers were also deployed on the route, Lloyd's List data showed."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":159.9,"text":"The Northern Sea Route is broken up into 28 sections with different guidelines set by the Rosatom-controlled Northern Sea Route administration depending on the ice conditions. The Russian state-controlled company issues permits to sail through the area. "}],[{"start":174.65,"text":"Insurance companies and environmentalists have warned that increasing use of the waterway could result in a major accident, with few search and rescue or clean-up capabilities in the region."}],[{"start":185.05,"text":"A major oil spill from the supertanker Exxon Valdez off the Alaskan coast in 1989 took at least four years to clean up, but residue from the accident is still lingering on nearby beaches."}],[{"start":197.5,"text":"Romain Troublé, executive director of the Tara Ocean Foundation, said there was also a risk that even minor oil spills would accelerate global warming effects as black drops on the ice would absorb sunlight and increase melting."}],[{"start":211.45,"text":"“The people who will use this route are not only Russia and China . . . any companies that can go through this route in the future will have an impact on the Arctic,” he said. “If you and I are buying goods that are using this path, we are contributing to the dangers of it.”"}],[{"start":226.45,"text":"There are also significant dangers for mariners given the unpredictable weather and harsh conditions."}],[{"start":232.95,"text":"Tom Mellor, head of technical partnering at the UK Hydrographic Office, the main provider of geospatial data to ships, said that navigational equipment could fail to work at far-northerly latitudes. "}],[{"start":244.04999999999998,"text":"“Above or below that the world becomes much more curved and the display of that data requires a different methodology to make sure it is positioned correctly on that chart.”"}],[{"start":255.49999999999997,"text":"“I wouldn’t want to go on board if you didn't have a proper system that was showing the chart correctly,” he said."}],[{"start":260.9,"text":"Cartography by Steve Bernard"}],[{"start":271.09999999999997,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1790998023_6639.mp3"}