Using the route, which goes from Europe to eastern and south-eastern Asia through the NSR, halves transportation time to market compared to the traditional route. The start of LNG shipments through the NSR with the Arc7 tanker will help increase cargo turnovers and develop navigation in the Arctic Ocean.
Currently, the navigation routes for high tonnage ships through the NSR have already being used and tested, providing security and efficiency of navigation.
Christophe de Margerie is the first of 15 tankers that are being specifically built for the Yamal LNG project. In the winter navigation season of 2016 - 2017, the Arc7 ice-class tanker successfully passed a series of ice tests. The LNG tanker may be used for year-round navigation without the escort of icebreakers through the NSR towards western direction and for summer season navigation towards eastern direction.
