Bering Strait News

The Arctic is no longer a remote expanse beyond the edges of global commerce — it is now a contested arena where strategic competition, energy development, and maritime innovation converge. As climate change accelerates sea ice retreat, previously impassable waters are opening to navigation for longer periods each year. This change unlocks shorter trade routes, exposes massive untapped hydrocarbon and minerals reserves, and creates demand for ships able to operate in some of the harshest conditions on Earth.In this evolving environment…

The U.S. Coast Guard has detected two Chinese research vessels operating in the U.S. Arctic and is currently monitoring five similar vessels in or near the U.S Arctic.On August 5, a C-130J Hercules fixed wing aircraft from Air Station Kodiak responded to the Chinese research vessels Ji Di and the Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di. Both vessels were transiting northeast in the Bering Sea.On August 6, the crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Waesche (WMSL 751) again responded to the Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di as it was transiting north in the Chukchi Sea above the Arctic Circle…

Geopolitical rivalries are intensifying in the Arctic but Russia is willing to cooperate with foreign partners, including from the West, in economic ventures there that will benefit all sides, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.In a major speech, Putin said U.S. President Donald Trump's stated intention to acquire Greenland was "serious", and it was clear that the U.S. would continue to promote its interests in the Arctic. The Greenland question had nothing to do with Russia…

Russia sees scope for international investors, including from the Global South, to help develop its Arctic region, a senior official said on Wednesday.President Vladimir Putin is keen to ramp up commerce via the Northern Sea Route through Arctic waters as Russia shifts trade towards Asia and away from Europe because of Western sanctions.Focus on the strategic importance of the Arctic for mining, shipping and international security has increased sharply because of repeated statements by U.S.

As global reliance on subsea infrastructure grows, so do the risks. Discover how safeguarding undersea assets opens new frontiers for innovation and investment.Importance of Subsea InfrastructureSubsea infrastructure plays a critical role in maintaining the operational continuity of the modern society and the global economy. This vast network includes subsea data and communication cables, pipelines for energy transportation, electricity cables, and resource extraction systems.

The United States is watching growing cooperation between Russia and China in the Arctic closely and some of their recent military collaboration in the region sends "concerning signals", the U.S. Arctic ambassador said.Russia and China have stepped up military cooperation in the Arctic while deepening overall ties in recent years that include China supplying Moscow with dual-use goods despite Western sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine.Russia and the United States are among eight countries with territory in the resource-rich Arctic.

Russia has begun designing nuclear-powered submarines to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Arctic to Asia to try to nearly halve the journey time along the Northern Sea Route (NSR), a senior state official has said.Russia already uses nuclear-powered ice breakers to pave the way for such transport via the NSR, which runs along Russia's Arctic shores from Murmansk in the west to the Bering Strait in the east, a route Moscow sees as a faster alternative to the Suez Canal and has plans to develop.But Russia is suffering from a shortage of vessels able to battle thick Arctic ice…

Russia has begun designing nuclear-powered submarines to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Arctic to Asia to try to nearly halve the journey time along the Northern Sea Route (NSR), a senior state official has said.Russia already uses nuclear-powered ice breakers to pave the way for such transport via the NSR, which runs along Russia's Arctic shores from Murmansk in the west to the Bering Strait in the east, a route Moscow sees as a faster alternative to the Suez Canal and has plans to develop.But Russia is suffering from a shortage of vessels able to battle thick Arctic ice…

The U.S. Coast Guard on Sunday located four Russian Federation Navy (RFN) vessels 57 miles northwest of Point Hope, Alaska. While on a routine patrol in the Chukchi Sea, the crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton (WMSL 752) observed the RFN vessels transiting southeast along the Russian side of the Maritime Boundary Line (MBL). The Russian Surface Action Group consisted of a Severodvinsk-class submarine, Dolgorukiy-class submarine, Steregushchiy– class Frigate, and Seliva-class tug. The crew of the Stratton witnessed the RFN vessels cross the MBL into the U.S.

An oil tanker managed by an Azerbaijan-based firm is travelling the Northern Sea Route to China for the first time, taking a route so far dominated by vessels managed by Russian shipping giant Sovcomflot, according to LSEG data and two traders.The vessel Prisma is managed by a private company Vista Vvave Shipmanagement based in Azerbaijan, one of the traders said, citing the vessel's documents.Moscow wants to increase traffic via the Northern Sea Route (NSR), which runs from Murmansk near Russia's border with Norway eastwards to the Bering Strait near Alaska…

Russian shipping company Sovcomflot has started this year's transportation of Urals crude oil to Asia via the Northern Sea Route, according to market sources and LSEG data on Tuesday, as melting ice opens the Arctic route for transit shipments.Russia wants alternative routes to Asia from its western ports as Western sanctions have made it increasingly difficult for its fleet to operate in waters close to European Union countries.But the Northern Sea Route (NSR), though significantly shorter than the Suez Canal alternative…

A Chinese radio station on Monday started broadcasts on Arctic sea ice conditions off Russia's coast for vessels sailing the Northeast Passage, as China seeks to further utilise the world's northernmost routes as alternatives to the Suez Canal.Arctic sea routes are increasingly being used as an alternative global trade route connecting the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean to major economies as global warming shrinks ice packs and also allows for longer ice-free periods for vessels.China…

Attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels on merchant ships in the Red Sea have hit world trade. Between November and December 2023, the number of containers travelling through the Red Sea each day fell by 60% as ships moving goods between Asia and Europe diverted their routes around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.This route results in at least ten days more sailing time, so has caused freight prices to surge and has triggered costly delays to production. The region has become a bottleneck for the global economy before.

Russian nuclear agency Rosatom said on Tuesday it has set up a joint venture with Dubai's DP World to develop container shipping through the Arctic as part of an initiative heavily promoted by President Vladimir Putin.The deal with one of the world's top port operators is the most tangible sign yet of Moscow's ability to attract big international partners to help it realise its ambitious plans for what it calls the Northern Sea Route.Putin has talked up prospects for the Arctic corridor…

Russia must boost production facilities for the construction of ice-breaking vessels in order to meet its targets for increasing trade via the Northern Sea route, Moscow's official in charge of Arctic development has said.The government has been in talks with India and China on such projects, Alexei Chekunkov, the head of Russia's Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, told RBC media.Russia has long viewed the route, which runs from Murmansk near Russia's border with Norway eastwards to the Bering Strait near Alaska…

A Kremlin aide urged the Russian government on Thursday to adopt legislation allowing foreign-flagged vessels to use the Northern Sea Route (NSR), which Moscow wants to turn into a new Suez Canal.The NSR runs from Murmansk near Russia's border with Norway eastwards to the Bering Strait near Alaska.Although the route is physically challenging, it could cut sea transport times between Europe and Asia at a time when Russia's trade with Western countries is at post-Cold War lows following Moscow's decision to send troops into Ukraine."We have been left without transit routes.

Following another year of stark climate impacts in the Arctic, scientists warned Tuesday of a new scourge hitting the region: marine trash.With the region warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, sea ice that has long blanketed the Arctic Ocean is disappearing, opening new routes to shipping. Scientists began noticing the trash bobbing in the icy water or piling up on Alaska Bering Strait-area beaches last year.“That’s a direct result of increased human maritime activities…

Container shipping giant MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company doubled down on its position to avoid sending its vessels through the Northern Sea Route and urged others to follow suit, citing environmental concerns.“As a responsible company, this was an obvious decision for us,” said MSC CEO, Soren Toft. “MSC will not seek to cut through the melting ice of the Arctic to find a new route for commercial shipping, and I consider this a position the whole shipping industry must adopt.”Running from Murmansk near Russia’s border with Norway to the Bering Strait near Alaska…

President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Russia wanted to retain its "superiority" in the Arctic and that it planned to renew its icebreaker fleet to bolster its presence there.Moscow has stepped up its efforts to tap the region's commercial potential, including by increasing freight traffic on the Northern Sea Route, which runs from Murmansk in the Russian Arctic to the Bering Strait near Alaska.In recent years Russia has also reopened abandoned Soviet military, air and radar bases in the energy-rich region as it vies for dominance against traditional rivals Canada…

A nuclear-powered ice breaker Russia says is the world’s largest and most powerful set off on Tuesday on a two-week journey to the Arctic as part of Moscow’s efforts to tap the region’s commercial potential.Known as Arktika, the nuclear icebreaker left St. Petersburg and headed for the Arctic port of Murmansk, a journey that marks its entry into Russia’s icebreaker fleet.Russian state firm Rosatomflot has called the vessel the world’s largest and most powerful icebreaker.

The good news is that work has commenced on the first new heavy polar icebreaker for the United States Coast Guard in 43 years. The bad news is that when it enters service, projected to occur in FY2024, it will be the first new heavy polar icebreaker for the USCG in 47 years.Meanwhile, Russia has approximately 30 active polar icebreakers, including four that are nuclear powered. Arktika, the first of a new class of three heavy polar icebreakers, has commenced sea trials in the Gulf of Finland, with the other two under construction.

Sovcomflot's Arc7 ice-class Christophe de Margerie liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier has made history by successfully transiting the Eastbound ice-covered part of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) in May, carrying LNG from Novatek's Yamal LNG project to China.The Russian vessel owner said the event marked the first time in the history of the shipping industry that a large-capacity vessel of this class has passed along the Northern Sea Route eastwards in May when the ice conditions in the eastern sector of the NSR are rather difficult.

High in the Arctic Circle lies the Northern Sea Route, one of the planet’s vital shipping arteries. It cuts a journey by almost a third compared to the southern route but it is passing through waters which are mostly frozen.The northern route connects east and west, allowing cargo to be transferred from northern Europe to northeast Asia, via the Bering Strait. It’s a 30% faster passage than the southern Europe-Asia alternative via the Suez Canal and is attractive to shipping companies, thanks to considerable fuel and emission savings.