Don't these "reporters" do their homework? A two-fer:
First - from the UK Independent:
First ship crosses Arctic in winter without an icebreaker as global warming causes ice sheets to melt
A ship has made a winter crossing of the Arctic without an icebreaker for the first time as global warming causes the region’s ice sheets to melt.
The tanker, containing liquefied natural gas, is the first commercial vessel to make such a crossing alone during the winter months.
And a bit more - the company and the ship in question:
Belonging to the shipping company Teekay, the ship Eduard Toll made its way from South Korea to the Sabetta terminal in northern Russia in December.
Second - from Teekay itself:
EDUARD TOLL, TEEKAY’S FIRST ICEBREAKER LNG CARRIER NEWBUILDING, IS DELIVERED
Eduard Toll is the fourth of 15 Arc7 LNG carriers being built for the Yamal LNG project and Teekay’s first of six LNG Carrier Newbuildings contracted to service the project.
Recently, the vessel made history as it underwent the latest seasonal independent passage by a merchant ship on the Northern Sea Route.
A fitting legacy for its namesake: Baron Eduard Toll, a Russian geologist and explorer who dedicated his life to the discovery of the Arctic – and pioneered Russian Polar expedition.
The vessel was technically accepted in Korea at the beginning of December 2017 after successfully completing sea trials and immediately thereafter departed for her journey to Northern Russia.
Over the past month, she has transited via the Northern Sea Route, breaking ice 1.8 metres thick at speeds of five knots astern – and arrived at the Sabetta terminal ahead of schedule.
This marked a major milestone for shipping in the arctic as this was the first time a shipping vessel made independent passage, without the support of an ice breaker, during this time of year.
The ship did not need an icebreaker escort because of global warming, the Eduard Toll did not need an icebreaker escort because the ship itself is an icebreaker. Teekay figured it would be cheaper in the long run to build an LNG transport ship that was ice certified - saves the cost of the second ship and crew.
"Josh Gabbatiss Science Correspondent" was the Independent's author and he should be ashamed of himself - what a moron.
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