The ice caps are melting, and the North-East Passage is opening up…
On present calculations, the North-East Passage could be open to year-round commercial shipping within a decade, making it a viable economic alternative to the southern route through Suez, which is much longer.
The result may be a seismic shift in global shipping patterns that have changed little since the opening of the Suez and Panama canals a century ago.
The economics are in the northern route’s favour. A journey through the North-East Passage from Europe to Japan is 7,000 nautical miles long and takes 22 days. A comparative trip through the Suez canal is 11,000 nautical miles and takes 35 days.
Of course, melting ice caps don’t always bring profit…
Russia is preparing to launch an operation to rescue a group of scientists, after the sinking of their North Pole research base.
- What next?
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