International voyages on the Northwest Passage in 2024

The number of large commercial ships traversing the Northwest Passage has steadily increased in recent years. Following a record 24 transits last year, this season ranked second in all-time statistics, with a total of 18 complete transits.

As the 2024 shipping season on the Northwest Passage is concluding, Tuomas Romu from Aker Arctic has summarised the year’s international voyages.

This year a total of 18 ships completed the full journey. Of these, 11 were westbound (six cruise ships and five cargo ships), while seven were eastbound (two cruise ships, four cargo ships, and one tanker). Two cargo ships completed return voyages within the same season, taking advantage of the Arctic shortcut in both directions.

Additionally, there were various cargo shipments to and from destinations along the route. However, these are not included in the transit statistics unless they completed the full length of the Northwest Passage.

A decade of cargo transits

Until recently, commercial transits on the Northwest Passage were limited largely to ice-strengthened expedition cruise ships and icebreakers carrying passengers.

The first complete transit by a cargo ship was undertaken by Nordic Orion in 2013, although the famous SS Manhattan, which marks the beginning of Aker Arctic’s model testing history, navigated the most challenging segments already in 1969.

Over the past decade, the number of ships utilising the passage has gradually increased, reaching a peak of 24 complete transits in 2023.

In 2024, as in previous years, most transits were completed by regular operators, such as the Dutch shipping company Royal Wagenborg and several cruise lines. Royal Wagenborg’s cargo ships have now completed 41 transits, accounting for 80% of all cargo voyages on this route.

Some noteworthy voyages

A new operator this year was TORM, with the tanker Torm Lene. The vessel has sailed on Canadian Arctic waters in previous years but now traversed the entire Northwest Passage for the first time after stopping at Bathurst Inlet.

Another noteworthy voyage this season was that of the expedition cruise ship Le Commandant Charcot which, after completing a westbound transit on the Northwest Passage, sailed from Alaska to Svalbard across the polar ice pack. During this transpolar voyage, it became the first ship to reach the northern pole of inaccessibility, the point in the central Arctic Ocean farthest from any landmass.

While the focus at Aker Arctic remains on large commercial vessels, many private yachts and sailing boats, including the Finnish s/v Lumi, also used the Northwest Passage during the 2024 season. The crew of Lumi maintains a website detailing their 5000-mile journey through remote waters, navigating around challenging pack ice and icebergs.

The shipping season on the Northwest Passage typically ends in late October. However, this year Royal Wagenborg’s ice-strengthened freighter Avonborg completed a late-season eastbound transit, entering the Bering Strait on 30 October and passing through the Hudson Strait on 9 November.

The Scott Polar Research Institute keeps an exhaustive list of all Northwest Passage Transits. Their webpage also contains other interesting information on polar data.

Increased icebreaker presence  

The Northwest Passage was ice-free for much of the season. However, growing traffic necessitates an increased presence of the Canadian Coast Guard to ensure that sufficient search and rescue, oil spill response, and other resources are available to respond promptly in the event of accidents or difficulties.

All commercial vessels that transited the Northwest Passage were ice-strengthened, which is a sensible precaution in such Arctic voyages, and operated largely independently. Unlike on the Northern Sea Route, where icebreaker-led convoys are common, the Canadian Coast Guard only assists commercial ships on main choke points along the Northwest Passage, as their focus is on other critical responsibilities.

This year, the passage was utilised from the end of July to November. As winter approaches, shipping activity on the Northwest Passage will gradually end and the next international transits are expected to occur in late July 2025.

Text: Catarina Stewen