Novatek hails out-of-season Arctic equipment delivery
The AUDAX Arc7 ice-class carrier, loaded with a process module for the Arctic LNG-2 project in the Russian Arctic, has completed a voyage along the Northern Sea Route long after the traditional end of the navigation season, Arctic LNG-2 operator Novatek reported on February 17.
The carrier carried the module weighing nearly 12,000 metric tons from the Chinese port of Tianjin to Murmansk in Russia's far north.
"This voyage is unique in terms of a vessel of this size passing the entire Northern Sea Route with a nuclear icebreaker support in February in challenging ice conditions," Novatek said.
Novatek noted that the current season has seen more severe ice than usual, and the past summer-autumn navigation period had ended much earlier than usual, in November 2021.