Plans to provide a Northern Sea Shipping Route over Russia, have been criticised by Nils Anderson, head of Denmark’s AP Møller-Maersk. The plans were to provide an alternative shipping container route to the Suez canal for Asia-Europe trade.
The Chief Exec of the worlds biggest container shipping line, claims it will take at least 10 to 20 years to provide a viable shipping line for commercial opportunities through the Arctic.
The route, known as the Northeast Passage can cut shipping route times by up to a third. But due to the icy conditions the route can only be open for a few months a year and often requires costly ice-breaker assistance;
The problem is just that you have to have icebreakers, you have to be very sure that you hit the right window during the year so you don’t run into icebergs, and things like that.
With global warming, the route could provide a viable method of shipping containers to and from Asia, but no one really has any idea of when this might be.
Int he meantime Maersk is taking delivery of 20 Triple E Ships, capable of carrying 18,000 20-foot containers from Asia to Europe.