Big oil from the Baltic ports bypassed Europe

The first tanker loaded with Russian oil in the Baltic port went this season of navigation along the Northern Sea Route. The shortest route to Asia saves time and costs, but last year was treacherous for some oil transportation vessels.

The tanker "Viktor Bakaev", which is under direct US sanctions, loaded with oil in In Primorsk, he headed for Asia along the Northern Sea Route, the shortest route. According to AIS of vessels, the vessel left the Baltic port on July 21, and today, on July 29, the tanker was sailing through the Barents Sea opposite the coast of Russia.

The ship does not indicate the final point of arrival, but obviously it will be China. "Viktor Bakaev" can carry 118 thousand tons of oil and, judging by the draft of 13.6 meters out of 14.6 meters, it is almost fully loaded.

The vessel has become the first large tanker to navigate the Northern Sea Route this season. "Viktor Bakaev" has an Ice2 ice class. But, obviously, icebreakers will accompany him on the most difficult sections. The tanker will encounter the first ice in The Kara Sea, but the most tense situation may be in the East Siberian and Chukchi Seas, judging by the data of the maps of the ice situation of the Northern Sea Route published by Rosatom.

Glavsevmorput issued a permit to Viktor Bakayev for crossings along the Northern Sea Route from July 29 to October 31.

If the transportation of Arctic oil via the NSR is traditional, then last year raw materials from the Baltic ports also went along the shortest route. At that time, on the Northern Sea Route, they were already sailing from Ust-Luga and Primorsk tankers "Primorsky Prospect" and NS Arctic. In total, 14 shipments totaling about 11 million barrels were transported to China by the shortest route in 2023.

This year, navigation started late for Arctic oil, according to AIS vessels. The Northern Sea Route reduces the duration of the voyage by a third and it should take a month instead of a month and a half, which are spent on transportation around Europe and through the Suez Canal. However, in the first year of the launch of the delivery of Russian oil and LNG from the Baltic ports to Asia via the Arctic route, not everything went smoothly. Two of the six oil tankers sailing from the Baltic, NS Arctic and Primorsky Prospect, were forced to stop for six days in In the East Siberian Sea and maneuver in anticipation of the icebreaker due to the ice situation.

It is not known whether the delay in the navigation of Russian oil along the Northern Sea Route is connected with this. For example, NS Arctic and Primorskiy Prospekt are located in Murmansk, but have not yet set off. At least according to AIS.

As reported by EADaily, navigation along the Northern Sea Route among oil tankers was started by "Navigator Ovtsyn". With a small cargo capacity, the vessel (up to 41 thousand tons of raw materials) goes from Murmansk to Chinese Zhizhao, where it should arrive on August 18. The Arctic shuttle tanker approached Wrangel Island and is forced, judging by the route, to go around the ice fields.

Also from Murmansk is the tanker Mikhail Ulyanov, which can carry up to 70 tons of oil. The vessel is heading to the Vostochny port near Nakhodka and has passed the Vilkitsky Strait, entering the Laptev Sea.

After The EU banned the import of Russian oil and, together with the G7, introduced a price ceiling for third countries, China and India became the main recipients of raw materials from Russia. In May last year, Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev said that the state corporation, together with Russian companies, was working on the issue of redirecting Russian oil from the Baltic ports to the Northern Sea Route as the safest and most attractive route.

"The embargo imposed by European countries on the supply of Russian oil and petroleum products has not only become a challenge, but has also opened a new window of opportunity for the emergence of an additional cargo base on the NSR. Thanks to the Northern Sea Route, it became possible to transfer a lot of maritime transport activities from the west to the east," the head of the state corporation said at a meeting with the president.