Wednesday, November 23, 2022

'Arctic Silk Road' Comes Alive

‘Arctic Silk Road’ Comes Alive As Russia Sends Oil To China
Greatgameindia


According to a new report by Bloomberg, the Arctic Silk Road has come to life as Russia sends oil to China through the Bering Strait.

Western energy sanctions against Russia have helped Moscow sail a crude tanker through the Arctic Circle for the second time ever, heading east toward China. This route, known as the “Arctic Silk Road,” may one day revolutionise the flow of energy from Russia to Asia because it takes half as long as the Suez Canal from Russia’s Baltic ports.

The Vasily Dinkov, a specialised ice-breaking tanker, left Murmansk, a city in northwest Russia, off the Barents Sea, according to vessel monitoring data provided by Bloomberg. It was carrying a load of crude oil. The ship travelled along Russia’s northern coast from October 27 to November 4 before entering the Bering Strait on November 5. This strait connects the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and separates Alaska and Russia.

The tanker is currently travelling at full speed off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula as of Tuesday morning. On November 17, it will arrive at its destination, the Chinese port of Rizhao.

“The journey is the shortest passage between Europe and east Asia, taking half the time to reach China from Russia’s Baltic ports than the conventional route through the Suez Canal,” Bloomberg said.

Trade flows were beginning to move toward the Northern Sea Route even before the war in Ukraine and the ensuing sanctions on Moscow.

Transit routes across the Arctic will become more significant in relation to China’s and Russia’s global geopolitics, as predicted in 2017.




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