MV "SENDA J" on the northern sea route - From Shanghai to Saint Petersburg

MV "SENDA J" recently crossed the so-called "northern sea route". The journey started in Shanghai. After an intermediate stop in the port of Sabetta in Russia, where the ship was from August 17th to 21st, the vessel reached the destination of Saint Petersburg on August 31. MV "SENDA J" has the high ice class of E3 and can pass through ice having a thickness of up to 0.8 meters. The northern sea route was first crossed by Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld in 1878/1879. The journey from the Far East to Europe is 2,671 nautical miles long, which is about 23 percent shorter than the regular route through the Suez Canal. In the Arctic summer, large parts of the ice melt for a few months. The passage for ships is then possible between July and November. In any case, only comparatively small vessels can pass the route, since the water depth in certain regions is only 11 to a maximum of 13 meters. At the present time, there are only a few ports along the northern sea route. Due to some narrow and flat passages, the risk of average is very high.

MV "SENDA J" would at an average speed of 14 knots have needed 35 days and 6 hours on the regular route via the Suez Canal for a distance of 11.849 nautical miles (equivalent to 21.944 km). Via the northern sea route, the journey is only 9.178 nautical miles long (equivalent to 16.997 km). At an average speed of 14 knots, the duration of the journey is there only 27 days and 8 hours. This also reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 23 percent.

During the journey, MV "SENDA J" was surprised by some larger sheets of ice and needed the help of the icebreaker "Yamal". According to the report of Captain Shestov, the ice there had a thickness between 2 and 5 meters.

The heavy-lift vessel built in 2011 is 153.8 meters in length, has a 23.2 meter beam and a draft of 9.1 meters. It has a loading capacity of up to 14,300 tdw. The main engine model WÄRTSILÄ 6RT-Flex50-B with an output of 9.960kw delivers a speed of up to 16.5 knots. The two heavy-lift cranes can each lift 400 tons; in combined operation even up to 800 tons. Furthermore, the heavy-lift vessel has an auxiliary crane which has a lifting capacity of another 80 tons.