Recently, the Vladimir Vizer of COSCO SHIPPING LNG Investment (Shanghai) Yamal Project made a new breakthrough in its ice breaking trip. It passed through the Bering Strait from Sabetta Port through the Arctic channel and sailed through the 100cm thick ice for the first time in winter. It successfully arrived at Jiangsu Rudong Port on January 3, discharging 153,000 cubic meters of natural gas, helping to ensure the supply of natural gas in winter as quickly as possible, reflecting the company's efficient and stable emergency supply capacity.
The traditional summer transportation window of the Arctic channel is generally between July and November, with relatively thin ice layer and convenient navigation. From January to February, China ushered in the peak of gas supply. In order to ensure the orderly and efficient supply of key nodes in winter, COSCO SHIPPING LNG Investment (Shanghai) tracked market demand and weather changes, strengthened operation management, and opened up a "green channel" on ice. Facing the new challenge that the ice thickness has reached 100cm, the company did not retreat but actively coordinated with relevant parties, carried out various assessments, and prepared comprehensive plans. They paid close attention to the prediction and ice monitoring of the Arctic passage by the Russian Arctic passage authority, and got the navigation support of the authority. Considering the particularity of this route and the necessity of safety guarantee, COSCO SHIPPING LNG Investment (Shanghai) established a close information transmission and communication mechanism with the project partners in the early stage, organized meetings for many times to carefully analyze the potential risks, sorted out the possible emergencies one by one, and organized emergency drills. In the process of navigation, in addition to setting up special personnel to monitor the daily dynamics of the ship, at the risk points related to pandemic prevention and control and equipment safety, they also urged the ship management unit to strictly implement the safety measures related to the company and the industry, and actively raised and scientifically deployed ice breakers for escort, so as to ensure that the navigation is safe.
The passage through the Arctic channel in winter saved nearly 13,400 kilometers, more than 20 days of sailing time and significantly reduced fuel costs compared with the conventional Suez Canal route. At present, the seven Yamal Project ships (three ice-breaking LNG carriers and four conventional ships) belonging to COSCO SHIPPING LNG Investment (Shanghai) are in stable operation and will continue to provide more efficient and safe transportation services to ensure the national energy demand.