Last week on the 30th June the 2011 Northern Sea Route (NSR) “opened” for sea transit along the northern shore of Russia. The nuclear powered icebreaker NS Yamal , left Murmansk to rendezvous with the oil tanker MV Preseverance and escort her along the NSR to her China destination. The passage is expected to take around 20 days, cutting the time in half compared to a Suez route. Several other ships are planned to use the NSR this summer and already several ice classification tankers are gathering in Kola Bay ready for the next ice breaker escorted convoy. It is anticipated that approximately 15 large oil tankers will transit the route. [More]