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- IMO number – 9752656
- ship’s name – XIANG-HE-KOU
- type – Heavy Load Carrier
- flag of Hong Kong
- GT – 35,949
- DWT (t) – 48,163
- length (m) – 217
- width (m) – 43
- year of building – 2016.
China’s growing interest in the Northern Sea Route
After almost a decade of limited growth, the Northern Sea Route (NSR) is preparing for a significant increase in freight volumes in the coming years.
Some of the vessels, often passing along the Northern Sea Route, belong to the China Sea Transport Company (COSCO). In 2016, the company sent a record five ships along this route, supplying, among other things, materials for the construction of an LNG plant in the Yamal-LNG project in the village of Sabetta. This year, eleven Chinese vessels, four of which are owned by COSCO, have received a work permit. “These events point to an increase in interest in the Northern Sea Route from China,” said Mia Bennett, a researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles.
The Arctic is one of the three sea routes mentioned by China as a part of its “One Belt – One Way” initiative earlier this year. “By including the Northern Sea Route in its “One Belt – One Way” initiative and the Silk Road Fund and sending vessels belonging to the COSCO SMP, China is trying to take an active part in the development of this route,” Bennett continues. “The Chinese Silk Road Fund received 9.9% of the shares in the liquefied gas plant in Yamal in exchange for investments of more than $1 billion, and this grandiose project is located just along the Northern Sea Route.”
Chinese ships in the Arctic
According to data for August 21, four Chinese ships follow the Northern Sea Route or near it. “Hai Yangshi Yu 720”, a hydrographic vessel owned by China Oilfield Services Limited, a subsidiary of the Chinese state oil company CNOOC, currently operates in the Kara Sea, where it conducts survey work using a 4.5-nautical mile towed cable. Not far from it, also in the Kara Sea, operates the auxiliary ship “Nan Hai Jiu Hao”, also owned by China Oilfield Services Limited. Xiang He Kou is a heavy-duty transport ship. Kou Xiang belonging to COSCO Hong Kong, a subsidiary of COSCO, has left the Northern Sea Route.