LONDON – As if the war in Ukraine wasn’t tragic enough, Vladimir Putin’s Russia could now cause a huge environmental catastrophe. Scenario also a consequence of Ukraine’s brutal aggression. In order to avoid sanctions and problems when selling its crude oil, Moscow has been doing this for a long time sends oil tankers into the Arctic Oceani.e. via the impermeable northern route and not via the safer and more conventional southern route.
As the Financial Times reportsThis month there have been at least two Russian ships attempting to deliver oil to China from the port Murmask (Northern Russia) decided to go around that Siberia, cross the Bering Strait with Alaska and head south to dock in Rizhao, China. A route of around 5,600 kilometers that takes 10 days less (35 versus 45) than the traditional route with a start Primorsk (Gulf of Finland) and crosses the Suez Strait. A trip that would, among other things, save Moscow around half a million euros each way in fuel alone. “This shows the desperation of Russia, which is threatening the environment,” says Malte Humpert, journalist for the specialist magazine High North News, who was the first to denounce these risky Russian operations, to the “FT”.
Most worryingly, Moscow used non-ice class ships on two of these voyages to Asia in early September. That is, not reinforced and without a double security cover. These are the “Leonid Loza” and the “NS Bravo”, which have been in operation for 12 and 13 years respectively and can transport up to one million barrels of crude oil. According to the Financial Times it is for the first time in modern times.
Under these conditions, in the event of an impact with an iceberg or ice-related accidents, the tanker is likely to suffer more or less severe damage, thus triggering a potential environmental disaster. Theoretically, the consequences would be even more catastrophic, as emergency vehicles would have difficulty reaching the area and operating.
The northern route through the Arctic is one of the most dangerous in the world for oil transport. In fact, Russia resorted to it only once in 2022, with a reinforced “ice-class” tanker. In the summer months, when the ice layers are thinner, passage is made easier by the heat and now by global warming. The responsible Russian agency Rosatom recently approved trips from July to November for unreinforced ships: “We have always acted in the name of safety and the environment is very important to us,” assures the authority. He doesn’t agree Charlie Kronick From Greenpeace Great Britain: “The ice in these areas is unpredictable due to very strong winds and currents.” The use of unreinforced oil tankers significantly increases the risk of accidents and therefore environmental disasters.”