Arctic sea route showed two faces this year

The Northeast Sea Route along Russia’s northern coast closed again on 1 October. It had fully opened in the second half of August – for the fifth year in a row – and ships were able to use it for six weeks, the Global Ice Centre of Japan’s Weathernews reported. That was double the three weeks in 2013, but significantly less than in 2011 and 2012, when the waterway was usable for nine and 10 weeks respectively without the use of icebreakers.