OREANDA-NEWS. July 16, 2012. Icebreakers owned by FSUE Atomflot will be providing icebreaking assistance in the current month to three caravans of cargo ships through the Northeast Passage in both directions, the company said on Monday.

Today, (July 16) a convoy, consisting of a Norwegian dry bulk carrier, the M/V Nordic Odyssey, the tanker Marilee, chartered by Novatek, a cargo ship of Murmansk Shipping Company (MMP) - the M/V Captain Danilkin and a multi-purpose icebreaking tug Vengery, to be operated in the Sakhalin area, has crossed the 114th meridian and is in the middle of the Laptev Sea heading for the port of Pevek. The convoy was formed in the area of Russky Island.

The nuclear-powered icebreakers will lead the caravan to the ice edge in the Chukchi Sea, and then escort Europe-bound cargo ships, which are waiting in the east (the M/V Wall of Poseidon carrying Novatek’s cargoes and the Norwegian M/V Nordic Orion, as well as the Chinese icebreaker Xuelong heading for Iceland to conduct researches.