http://casafoodshed.org/archives/2009/09/15/the-arctic-is-becoming-a-blue-ocean/
September 18th, 2009 by Jim JustTwo German merchant ships have traversed the Northeast Passage after global warming and melting ice opened a route from South Korea along Russia’s Arctic coast to Siberia.
But this is not a cause for celebration. It’s a clarion call for immediate action to avert the worst impacts of global warming, before it’s too late.
The merchant ships MV Beluga Fraternity and MV Beluga Foresight arrived this week in Yamburg, Siberia, after traveling from Ulsan, South Korea, to Siberia by way of the Northeast Passage. The trip was completed in late July without incident.
For the last few years, including this year, navigator Roald Amundsen’s famous Northwest Passage has been navigable. Then in 2007, the more crucial deep water channel called McClure Strait opened up. Now the shipping company Beluga Shipping GmbH is planning more trips through the Northeast Passage “over the coming months.”
Traditionally, shippers traveling from Asia to Europe have to go through the Gulf of Aden and through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea and, depending on their destination, into the Atlantic Ocean.
The Northeast Passage can cut a lot of nautical miles off the journey. For example, via the Suez Canal a trip from Korea to the Netherlands is about 11,000 nautical miles (12,658 miles). Using the Northeast Passage saves approximately 3,000 nautical miles (3,452 miles), 10 days, and a lot of fuel.
Although Russia has long used its northern coast for shipping fuel, supplies and other goods to its remote Arctic settlements, this was the first time a commercial shipping company has successfully transited the Northeast Passage. Explorers throughout history have tried, and failed; some have died in the attempt.