Polarcus has announced that its seismic vessel 'Polarcus Alima', has successfully transited to Asia-Pacific via the Northern Sea Route (NSR), a first in the seismic industry.
The vessel's passage commenced on September 15 from Hammerfest in Norway after completion of seismic operations in the Barents Sea, taking her on a 3,000 nautical mile route along the northern coast of Russia to Cape Dezhnev in the Bering Straits. The voyage was completed in just nine days. After passing the Bering Straits on September 24, 'Polarcus Alima' is presently continuing her onward passage to New Zealand to commence operations expected to run for up to seven months in total.
The voyage was made possible in part due to the vessel's Arctic-ready capabilities. Under Russian regulations, vessels making the NSR passage are required to hold an ICE-1A or higher ice class. The expected time savings in transit between Norway and New Zealand compared with the traditional route through the Panama Canal amounts to some eight days. The savings versus the Suez Canal, a necessity for some larger seismic vessels, amounts to thirteen days.
This is the first known passage of a 3D seismic vessel along the Northern Sea Route. Preparations for the voyage were carried out in close cooperation with Tschudi Arctic Transit AS through its Russian-Norwegian joint venture company Arctic Bulk, Atomflot, and the Northern Sea Route Administration in Moscow.
