seatec - Finnish marine technology review 2/2012 | Page 37

At the Arkhangelsk conference, Mr. ship sailed through the Northeast Passage COORDINATION BY Igor Levitin – the Russian Minister of Com- already in the summer of 2011, assisted UNITED SHIPBUILDING munications – expressed his opinion that by an ice-breaker. Already, there are significant needs for the northern maritime passage constitutes “The Russian attitude has changed in maritime transportation in the arctic re- a unique system of transportation and that recent times. The commercial possibilities gions. For instance, Norilsk Nickel is trans- the utilisation thereof would even at the of the Northeast Passage are now becom- porting ore and metals from the port of present time be profitable and sensible. He ing apparent,” says Hernesniemi. Dudinga, and a number of oil and gas noted that a Panamax-class giant tanker companies have started to transport oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) via the Arctic Sea. “They have created a round-the-year shipping route utilising ships designed by the Finland-based company Aker Arctic Technologies.” seatec 2