ARCTIC thaws are benefiting shipping most along the Russian coast since winds are driving the oldest and thickest sea ice towards North America, further opening a remote region that is thawing amid global warming.
The thinning Russian ice could help liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers, due to start exports from Russia's Yamal Peninsula in late 2017, to navigate an icy route east to Asia for more than a planned six months of the year, according to scientists.
Almost all attention on Arctic shipping has focused on how global warming is shrinking the extent of ice around the North Pole, opening a summertime short-cut route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. But little-noticed shifts in the age of the ice, driven by prevailing winds and currents, are also helping Russia, reported Genoa's Medi Telegraph.
"Winds are blowing the ice out of the Northern Sea Route along the coast of Russia" and towards North America, said director Jeremy Mathis of the Arctic Research Programme at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
NOAA maps show that almost all the ice near Russia in winter is now only a year old and typically up to about two metres thick. By contrast, in 1985, ice older than five years was found across the Arctic Ocean, NOAA data show. Old ice can build up into hull-tearing ridges perhaps 20 metres thick.
