据WENews.com网站2018年7月8日伦敦报道，俄罗斯第3大石油公司俄罗斯天然气工业石油公司（俄气石油/Gazprom Export）周五表示，该公司日前启动了一艘新的破冰船《亚历山大·桑尼科夫号》破冰船来支持沿北海航线从亚马尔半岛出发的油轮。
俄气石油在一份声明中表示,《亚历山大·桑尼科夫号》破冰船是根据北极时间计划建造的第一艘破冰船。根据这个计划该项目已启动了六艘油轮。而这艘新破冰船船将在8月开始定期航行。
这艘破冰船是在俄气石油正计划投资开发位于亚马尔半岛的北极陆上诺维港油田基础设施之际下水的。俄气石油启动这艘破冰船的目的是为了最大限度地开采那里的所有油气资源。因此，俄气石油正指望开发一支北极船队。
俄气石油首席执行官亚历山大•久科夫在声明中表示：“我们的估计显示，在2030年前，对北海航线运输的需求将增加三分之一。”
沿俄罗斯海岸穿越北极水域的北海航线连接欧洲和亚洲，与通过苏伊士运河的传统航线相比，北海航线在运输时间和成本上都有显著的降低。然而，在这条航线的东部地区，稳定的航行时间被限制在2到4个月的短暂夏季，由于最近北极海海冰融化和技术进步，这是俄罗斯希望克服的一个挑战。
北海航线也为北极地区生产的碳氢化合物提供了进入国际市场的更便捷途径。
李峻 编译自 WENews.com
原文如下：
Gazprom Neft launches first new icebreaker to access Arctic oil fields
London — Russian oil major Gazprom Neft has launched a new icebreaker, the Alexander Sannikov, to support tankers going from the Yamal Peninsula along the Northern Sea Route, the company said Friday.
The Alexander Sannikov is the first icebreaker to be built under the Arctic Time program. Six tankers have already been launched under the program, the company said in a statement. The new vessel will begin regular voyages in August, the company said.
The launch of the vessel comes at a time when Gazprom Neft is planning to invest in developing infrastructure at the Arctic onshore Novy Port oil field at the Yamal Peninsula, to maximize production of all hydrocarbons there. As such, the company is banking on developing an Arctic fleet.
"Our estimates indicate that demand for the North Sea route transportation will increase by one third by 2030," CEO Alexander Dyukov said in the statement.
The NSR, which runs through Arctic waters along the Russian coast, linking Europe and Asia, provides significant reductions in both shipping time and costs, when compared with the traditional route via the Suez Canal. Stable navigation through eastern parts of the route, however, is limited to a short summer period of around two to four months, a challenge that Russia hopes to overcome due to recent melting of Arctic Sea ice and technological advances.
The route also offers up easier access to international markets for hydrocarbons produced in the Arctic.
