Cruise line to offer Northern Sea route cruises from 2021

A Russian cruise line has will offer trips along the Northern Sea route, a vast strip of the ocean in the Arctic Circle which has become navigable in recent years due to global warming.

The company, Vodohod, has announced the cruises will be available from 2021.

“We have big plans for 2020. We are launching an expedition tour along the Yenisei River on board the Maxim Gorky vessel, and I believe many people are aware of it already,” Vodohod representative Igor Yasinsky said.

He added that cruises along the Northern Sea route and around Franz Josef Land will be served from 2021 during the summer period. “After that, the vessel will go to Antarctica, and from 2022 it will work there together with two new expedition vessels, being built at a Finnish shipyard, each taking on board 150 people," said Yasinsky.

The Northern Sea route is the shortest maritime passage connecting the European part of Russia with the country’s Far East regions. The transport artery passes through several seas of the Arctic Ocean, including the Barents Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea, Chukchi Sea, and partially through the Bering Sea in the Pacific Ocean.

Vodohod’s press service said the company is finalizing formalities for the icebreaker’s rent and continues working on the cruises ’programs.

“Cruises will be between 7 and 17 days long,” the press service said. “We are also working on using light helicopters to make tours more exciting.”