FT: Arctic sea routes boom as Gulf war and global warming divert shipping

Shipping through the Arctic has reached record levels as melting sea ice and pressure on global chokepoints push shipowners to find alternative routes, Financial Times reports.

Voyages via the Northern Sea Route hit 133 last month, more than quadruple what they were in 2022, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, and up 46 per cent compared with August.

The Chinese container ship Dubai Tower travelled from Qingdao to the UK port of Felixstowe via the Arctic in September, trimming its voyage time to 24 days as opposed to the 40 or more days it would take to sail via the Suez Canal or Cape of Good Hope.

Another ship belonging to the same company set out from Ningbo to Felixstowe using the same route on September 27.

September is typically the busiest month for Arctic sea routes as the ice is at its lowest ebb, allowing ships without icebreaker capabilities to transit.

The northern sea ice suffered its largest single-year winter decline in 2025 since satellite records began and has remained at historic lows since, according to University of Southampton researchers.

The lower sea ice and increased pressure on chokepoints such as the Bab al-Mandeb Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea, which is currently threatened by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, are making the Northern Sea Route more appealing to shipowners. The strait has become a vital route for Saudi Arabian oil exports since Iran throttled shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in response to US strikes on the Islamic republic.

Meanwhile the Panama Canal has suffered drought conditions this year.

Liquefied natural gas carriers often use the route to reach Russia’s Yamal and Arctic LNG 2 gas plants, but there was also an uptick in bulk cargo vessels that typically carry commodities like grains or iron ore.

The number of bulk carriers transiting the route was 29 in September, compared to 18 in August and a previous high of 12 in September last year.

A record number of crude oil tankers were also deployed on the route, Lloyd's List data showed.

The Northern Sea Route is broken up into 28 sections with different guidelines set by the Rosatom-controlled Northern Sea Route administration depending on the ice conditions. The Russian state-controlled company issues permits to sail through the area.

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