Russia has amassed an unprecedented fleet of oil tankers, which have already begun or are preparing to transport approximately eight million barrels of oil via the Northern Sea Route. The volume represents about 60% of the amount delivered through the Arctic to Asian countries during the entire navigation period of last summer and autumn, writes The Moscow Times.
In the context where Ukrainian drones sink Russian ships in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, and Western countries detain tankers from the “shadow fleet”, the Northern Sea Route gains significant importance for Russian fuel exports.
On August 3, approximately 15 oil tankers were either already navigating this route or were in the Kara Sea, apparently waiting for a nuclear icebreaker or improved navigation conditions to be able to continue their journey eastward, reports gCaptain, a specialized publication, as cited by Moscow Times.
Most of the ships are located in the Kara Sea, between the Novaya Zemlya archipelago and the Taimyr Peninsula.
Three oil tankers are already navigating the Northern Sea Route, and one of them is close to completing the crossing of the Arctic sector. Two others are heading north from the west, through the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea.