Moscow Threatening Environment by Sending Aging Ships without Ice Protections through Parts of Northern Sea Route Already Blocked by Ice, Norwegian Experts Warn

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Oct. 13 – In order to make money and evade sanctions, Moscow is sending ships unprepared for traversing the icy Northern Sea Route and thus compromising the environmental security of the entire region, according to Norvald Kjerstad, a specialist on Arctic shipping.

            The professor of nautical science at Norway’s University of Science and Technology says that Moscow is violating international standard regimes that it had earlier agreed to and hiding what it is doing by using flags of convenience (thebarentsobserver.com/news/the-russians-are-compromising-security-on-northern-sea-route/326473).

            Many of the more than 60 cargo ships currently traversing the Northern Sea Route are older than 20 years and not equipped to handle ice, which has already begun to form along portions of the route. That could easily lead to disasters like the one that hit ships on the eastern part of the Route in 2021 (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2021/12/ice-in-eastern-portion-of-northern-sea.html).

            Moreover, few if any of these ships are currently being escorted by icebreakers given the problems Russia has had in building and refitting icebreakers for this Route. Consequently, the risks of an accident are especially high and could have far-reaching consequences for the Arctic region. 

            If even one of these ships were to be trapped and then crushed by ice, that could lead to massive oil spills that could destroy much of the delicate environment of the Arctic. If that is to be avoided, the international community must focus attention on what the Russians are doing and demand that they live up to the standards for Arctic shipping they earlier agreed to.