MOSCOW: Russian shipping company Sovcomflot has started this year’s transportation of Urals crude oil to Asia via the Northern Sea Route, according to market sources and LSEG data on Tuesday, as melting ice opens the Arctic route for transit shipments.

Russia wants alternative routes to Asia from its western ports as Western sanctions have made it increasingly difficult for its fleet to operate in waters close to European Union countries.

But the Northern Sea Route (NSR), though significantly shorter than the Suez Canal alternative, is challenging and requires the assistance of icebreakers to help vessels to pass along the northern coast of Russia.

It is normally opened for oil shipments from July to October.

The NSR runs for about 5,600 km (3,500 miles) and connects the port of Murmansk near Russia’s border with Norway eastwards to the Bering Strait near Alaska.