MS Nordic Orion is a Danish bulk carrier registered in Panama City. A coal and ore carrier, Nordic Orion has a capacity of 75,603 tonnes deadweight (DWT). It was built in 2011 by Oshima Shipbuilding. Nordic Orion has an ice-strengthened hull,[2] and it is notable for being the first large sea freighter to transit the Arctic Northwest Passage.[3][4][5][6]It is owned and operated by Nordic Bulk Carriers.[3]
Nordic Orion started its voyage from Port Metro Vancouver, Canada, on 6 September 2013, carrying a cargo of 73,500 tons of coking coal.[7] The ship completed its voyage through the passage on 27 September stopping at Nuuk, Greenland[2] and reached its destination, the Port of Pori, Finland on 9 October 2013.[8]
Using the Northwest Passage shortened the distance between Vancouver and Pori by 1,000 nautical miles compared to the traditional route via the Panama Canal. Fuel savings were approximately US $80,000.[7][9] Nordic Orion was also able to load 15,000 tons more cargo than it could if it had sailed through the Panama Canal, due to the canal's depth limits.[2]
The journey has been described as an opening of a new era on the commercial use of the Arctic.[10][11]It has also caused criticism from environmental organisations such as the Bellona Foundation.[12]
Nordic Bulk Carriers has acknowledged the Nordic Orion never would have made the voyage if the Canadian Coast Guard had not provided free icebreaker escorts.[13][14]
Route of the cargo ship Yong Sheng, which arrived in Rotterdam on Sept. 10 after sailing across the Northern Sea Route from a Chinese port.
The ship – a 225-metre, ice-strengthened carrier loaded with B.C. coal bound for Finland – became the first bulk carrier to make the voyage, which has lured explorers for more than a century and has long been eyed as a commercial route.
Nordic Bulk Carriers' vessel Nordic Odin (77,000 dwt, built 2015) has become the first panamax bulker to carry iron ore from Baffin Island, Canada to Europe through Arctic sea ice.
The North West Passage across the Arctic is shorter than the traditional route through the Panama Canal and thereby has the potential to generate important saving in both time, fuel and CO2 emissions.
Besides the shipping firm that owns the Nordic Orion underlined that the transit was made possible as the Canadian Coast Guard offered free ice breaking escort. Had the company been billed, the transit would not have taken place.