Navigability of the Northern Sea Route for Arc7 ice-class vessels during winter and spring sea-ice conditions

Sea ice hinders the navigability of the Arctic, especially in winter and spring. However, three Arc7 ice-class Liquefied Natural Gas carrying vessels safely transited the Northern Sea Route (NSR) without icebreaker assistance in January 2021. More and more Arc7 ice-class vessels are putting into the transit services in the NSR. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze sea-ice conditions and their impact on navigation during wintertime, and the future navigability of Arc7 ice-class vessels along the NSR during winter and spring. Based on sea ice datasets from satellite observations and a model using data assimilation, we explored the sea-ice conditions and their impact during the first three successful com-mercial voyages through the NSR in winter. In addition, we analyzed the sea ice variation and estimated navigability for Arc7 ice-class vessels in the NSR from January to June of the years 2021-2050 using future projections of the sea-ice cover by the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) models under two emission scenarios (SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5). The results reveal lower sea ice thickness and similar sea ice concentration during these three transits relative to the past 42 years (from 1979 to 2020). We found the thickness has a larger impact on the vessels' speeds than sea ice concentration. Very likely sea ice thickness played a larger role than the sea ice concentration for the successful transit of the NSR in winter 2021. Future projections suggest sea ice thickness will decrease further in most regions of the NSR from January to June under all scenarios enabling increased navigability of the NSR for Arc7 ice-class vessels. Such vessels could transit through the NSR from January to June under all scenarios by 2050, while some areas near the coast of East Siberian Sea remain inaccessible for Arc7 ice-class vessels in spring (April and May). These findings can support the strategic planning of shipping along the NSR in winter and spring.

Automated summary

Sea ice hinders Arctic navigability, yet three Arc7 ice-class LNG vessels successfully transited the NSR in January 2021 without icebreaker assistance. Analysis of sea ice conditions and impact suggests future projections show decreasing sea ice thickness in most NSR regions from January to June, enabling increased navigability for Arc7 ice-class vessels by 2050.