The Northern Sea Route
Epic and captivating voyages between Anadyr and Murmansk | 30 / 31 days
Russia controls one of the greatest seaways in the world, the Northern Sea Route or Northeast Passage. Only a handful of expedition vessels have ever transited this seaway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans but recent changes in the summer sea ice conditions now make this possible for a brief time each summer. In 2017, a double transit was successfully made and a couple of our intrepid clients undertook part of this journey. Join us to explore the history and development of the route and the many islands along the way.
It wasn’t until 1878-1880 that Swedish explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiold completed the first ever full transit. In 1914-15 Imperial Russian Navy icebreakers made the second transit to make the seaway navigable for strategic use. From the 1930s a number of polar research and weather stations were established along the route and large convoys of Soviet ships (assisted by powerful icebreakers) used it to carry much needed supplies to Eastern Russia before the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.
Ship: Spirit of Enderby
When: Normally one departure in August (Westbound) and one departure in September (Eastbound)
Guide price: Please ask
Option: Ask for the next departure with Akademik Shokalskiy travelling In the Footsteps of Nordenskiold: Through the Northern Sea Route – a shorter 19 day Northern Sea Route voyage eastbound from Murmansk to Pekev, one of Russia’s most remote, and northernmost town.
Follow in the footsteps of Swedish explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld on this historic, geography and wildlife-filled authentic expedition cruise through the Northern Sea Route. Explore some of the least known and seldom visited shores on the planet including the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago, Cape Chelyuskin, Nordenskiöld Archipelago and more.
Important note: As a result of the Russia-Ukraine war, these voyages are suspended until further notice. We continue to watch the situation carefully and will issue updates accordingly.
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Our sister company, Far Frontiers Travel, specialises in tailor-making bespoke travel to Central Asia, China and Mongolia, the Far East, Indian Subcontinent and the Himalayas, Indochina, Myanmar, Middle East, North Africa and Europe, Russia and South America.
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Clients’ comments
“Once again thank you very much for yet another wonderful trip to the Arctic. Memories from this trip have surpassed some of those of previous visits to this part of the world. The whole voyage provided me (and fellow passengers) the chance to see a part of the Arctic seen by few people and experience the vastness of the Northern Sea Route and the challenges it presents in the future”.
Peter Wright, The Northern Sea Route and Wrangel Island
“This was a wonderful trip. Getting there and back was slightly trying, not because of the airlines (both Transaero and Yakutia were good) but because of the length of the flights, the hassle of boarding, stopping over in Irkutsk on the way back, and of course the time changes (3 hours London/Moscow, nearly 9 hours Moscow/Petropavlovsk, and the reverse on the way back. The voyage itself was splendid. There were some early starts and late finishes, a few rather optimistic ‘dry landings’ from zodiacs (I always wore rubber wellingtons and always needed them) and one optimistic ‘walk’ through a pass between bays which involved ploughing through deep/very deep snow for about a mile while on a slope most of the way. But we took these in our stride. We saw tons of wildlife – literally; at least two dozen whales, more than 5,000 hauled-out walruses, about 50 sea-lions, dozens of seals, and at least 15 brown bears. We were successful in finding the spoon-billed sandpiper, and the scientific element of the trip was both enlightening and exciting.”
Chris Meader, In Bering’s wake, in search of the spoon-billed sandpiper