Russia's largest independent gas producer, Novatek, has completed its first tanker delivery of hydrocarbons via the Northern Sea Route to the Asia-Pacific region, the firm said on Tuesday.
The trial journey was aimed at proving the economic feasibility of the northern alternative to the southern route lying through the pirate-infested Indian Ocean, Transport Minister Igor Levitin said.
Novatek said the debut delivery, started on August 14 from the Murmansk sea port, was made by a Sovcomflot Baltika oil tanker with deadweight of more than 100,000 tons and secured by Atomflot icebreakers.
The Northern Sea Route cuts the journey time between Russia's north-western ports and Pacific rim states. It also cuts the length of the route from Northern Europe to Northeast Asia and the northwest coast of North America compared to southern sea routes via the Suez or Panama canals by up to 40 percent.
The Northern Sea Route is also the shortest seaway from the ports of Western Europe and Russia to the Far East and South-East Asia.
The Northern Sea Route was officially opened to international shipping by the Soviet government in 1991, but has hitherto not been seriously used as a commercial route. It is now mainly used by Russian metals giant Norilsk Nickel and energy firms LUKoil, Gazprom and Rosneft.
MOSCOW, August 17 (RIA Novosti)
