These Arc-7 tankers can break ice up to two metres thick and the Novatek powers-that-be may have left it a week too late for the ship to make it on its own. From the Danish Meteorological Institute:
The turquoise colored ice is about as much as the tanker is good for, I mean 6 1/2 feet is a lot of ice but the areas colored green are beyond the capabilities of the Novatek fleet so it's going to be a close-run thing.
If the Christophe de Margerie gets stuck, Rosatom, the icebreaker fleet operator, charges big roubles to come save your butt. And that's what looks to be setting up in the straits between the East Siberian Islands on the approaches to the Laptev Sea. Good luck folks.
From The Barents Observer:
LNG carrier Christophe de Margerie is on its way from China to Sabetta, while nuclear-poweredicebreaker is in the East Siberian Sea. The two vessels might ultimately sail together across theNorthern Sea Route. Map compilation by Barents Observer
The Christophe de Margerie is approaching the Bering Strait on a historical voyage across the icy waters of the Russian Arctic shipping route....
....MUCH MORE
On the other hand, the icebreaker Rosatom has positioned in the East Siberian Sea is the one ship in the entire world that you want standing by, the 25,168 tonnes displacement 50 Let Pobedy. [Fifty Years of Victory]:
Although the new Arktika-class ships are heavier, 33,000 tonnes, Fifty Years of Victory has proven ability to break through 5 metres (16 feet) of ice. Meaning it could get to the North Pole in the dead of winter if needed.
The picture above was taken in summer - note sunlight.
