First tanker ship makes it through Arctic route alone

Posted on 31 Aug 2017 by Michael Cruickshank
The Christophe de Margerie can break through thick ice without assistance. Image courtesy of Sovcomflot.

A specially-built LNG tanker has this month become the first vessel to travel through the Northern Sea Route without being escorted by an icebreaker.

The Christophe de Margerie can break through thick ice without assistance. Image courtesy of Sovcomflot. The vessel, named the Christophe de Margerie, was specially designed with a reinforced hull, enabling it to cut through thick ice. Operated by Russian shipping company Sovcomflot, the ship carried gas from Hammerfest in Norway to…

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