Since the release of China's first Arctic Policy White Paper and the formal proposal to jointly build the "Ice Silk Road" in January 2018, the Arctic route connecting Asia, Europe, and America has garnered increasing attention. Compared to traditional Eurasian and American routes through the Suez Canal, Cape of Good Hope, or Panama Canal, the Arctic route can save over 20% of travel distance.

The central area of the Arctic Ocean is covered with sea ice year all round. In addition to the impact of winds, waves, and currents on vessels, the complex and ever-changing sea ice in the polar region significantly increases the difficulty and risk of maritime navigation. Accurate weather forecasting and professional navigation services have become indispensable safety assurances for ships navigating the Arctic route.

Recently, the Ninecosmos weather routing team successfully completed a mission to escort a client's merchant vessel on a round trip through the Arctic route between Europe and Asia.

Client Demands

The client's merchant vessel planned to travel between European and Asian ports via the Arctic route. Considering the ship's anti-ice level limitation and the difficulty in obtaining accurate sea ice forecasts, the safety of the journey was a major challenge. Upon learning that our company provides comprehensive Arctic route guidance services, the client approached us for consultation.

Ninecosmos Support

After in-depth discussions, the client highly recognized our technological advantages in meteorological and ocean forecasts, especially regarding sea ice data. Our weather routing team, with the goal of being the most economical and safest, tailored an Arctic route guidance service for the client. This included visualization of sea ice thickness and density data, 7-day meteorological, sea condition, and sea ice forecast information, and route simulation.

During the service, the weather routing operation team maintained real-time interaction with the client and the captain, actively acquiring first-hand information from the vessel and promptly addressing any issues encountered during the journey.

Service Results

<Ninecosmos recommended route>

<Real scene>

After more than two months of the joint efforts by the Ninecosmos weather routing team and the client, the vessel successfully exited the dense sea ice area before the window closed, safely reaching the destination port, marking a perfect conclusion to the Arctic route navigation mission!

Epilogue

Ninecosmos has proven its technical capability and team strength in real practices! The professionalism and proactive spirit demonstrated by the Ninecosmos weather routing team have been highly praised by the client!

Ninecosmos also extends gratitude to the client for their support and trust during the service process. We will continue to uphold the "customer first" philosophy, provide precise, professional, and comprehensive weather routing services to our clients, and to make further progress together!