Northeast Passage, Arctic Circle

For centuries, people have searched for a shorter sea route between northern Europe and Asia that would bypass the exceedingly long route via Africa’s Cape of Good Hope or the busyness and expensive tolls of Egypt’s Suez Canal. That quest led explorers to turn their eyes north, towards the icy Arctic waters, hoping to find a navigable passage above Russia. 

This route, known as the Northeast Passage, promised a direct link between Europe and Asia, travelling from the Barents Sea in the west, north of Scandinavia, to the Bering Strait in the east, between Far East Russia and Alaska. The passage skirts Siberia's remote and icy northern coast, threading its way through some of the harshest and least accessible waters on Earth, including the Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, and Chukchi Seas. Thought impassable due to thick ice and extreme conditions, the passage remained more of a dream than a reality, though it didn’t stop explorers and adventurers from attempting it. 

The first to successfully traverse the Northeast Passage was the Vega Expedition, led by Swedish explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld from 1878 to 1880. But the journey was far from seamless. Rather than a single continuous voyage, the expedition was broken into segments, with frequent pauses along the Russian Arctic coast for scientific study and resupply. After making it most of the way, the Vega became trapped in ice just days from the finish line in Bering Strait. The crew was forced to spend the next 10 months wintering in the frozen landscape before finally completing the last leg of the passage the following summer.

Between 1910 and 1933, several bold expeditions took on the Northeast Passage. The Russian Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition, led by Boris Vilkitsky from 1910 to 1915, charted large parts of the coastline over multiple seasons. A few years later, Roald Amundsen set out to drift across the Arctic, but instead, he completed the passage after two winters of being stuck in the ice. The big breakthrough came in 1932, when the icebreaker A. Sibiryakov, led by Otto Schmidt and Captain Vladimir Voronin, became the first to make it through in a single season. They returned in 1933 on the Chelyuskin, but the ship was crushed by ice in the Chukchi Sea. Incredibly, out of 104 people on board, all but one were rescued.

The passage continues to be a challenging route, requiring expert navigation through shifting ice and unpredictable weather. However, climate change is rapidly transforming the landscape. As Arctic sea ice retreats, the Northeast Passage, once considered impassable for much of the year, is increasingly navigable during summer months and thus draws the attention of commercial shipping companies. Shorter routes between Europe and Asia mean reduced fuel costs, lower shipping costs and faster delivery times, making this passage an attractive alternative. 

The Suez Canal is the main global shipping route, stretching about 14,000mi (23,000km) from Europe to Asia. In contrast, the Northeast Passage route is about 40% shorter, at 8,600mi (13,800km), saving anywhere from 8-10 days under reasonable conditions. Bear in mind that before the Suez Canal opened in 1869, commercial ships had to navigate the treacherous waters of the Cape of Good Hope, adding an extra nine days to the journey. Although, the Cape is still used as an alternative when the Suez Canal is blocked or too costly. 

While the Northeast Passage was elusive for a long time, it is now becoming more possible to traverse, opening up new possibilities for shipping and exploration.