German shipping company Hansa Heavy Lift e[ds_preview]nhances its activities in arctic shipping with transiting through the Northern Sea Route.
According to the Hamburg-based operator, »the first-ever ship-to-shore (STS) cranes« were transported via the Northern Sea Route (NSR), relocating them from the port of St Petersburg to the port of Vostochny, spanning both the European and Far East regions of Russia.
»HHL Valparaiso« would be the first vessel to sail open hatch through the Northern Sea Route, which is covered by thick ice for most of the year and has a limited window of about two months open to cargo voyages, it was announced. This allowed the two cranes, each weighing 820 metric tonnes and measuring 61 metres in height and 92 metres in width, to be shipped partially above and below deck.
»HHL Valparaiso« travelled from Qingdao, China to St Petersburg via the NSR to load the cranes, and then went back through the NSR a second time to complete the mission, which was accomplished in record time.
»The Northern Sea Route was the only viable option to complete this voyage in the required timeframe,« said HHLS‘s commercial manager Gleb Faldin. »In the Arctic there is no room for mistakes. During the passage, the vessel has limited connection and only a few points of shelter. “It is important to understand the legal framework to navigate the NSR, to plan carefully, to be prepared for the unexpected, and most importantly to have the right team on board the vessel and in the office.«
Faldin added that a two-month delay in the cargo being ready meant that »HHL Valparaiso« had to be repositioned for the voyage, which was originally planned for »HHL Tokyo«. Crews had only a few weeks to complete the voyage, as the cargo was loaded in October and had to be delivered to its destination by late November before the route completely froze over. Other challenges included limited space aboard the HHL Valparaiso, which holds Ice Class E3 equivalent to Russian Arc.4 (Finnish- Swedish Ice Class 1A).
