Sanctioned 22-Year-Old Non-Ice-Class Tanker Makes Rare Late-Season Arctic Voyage

A 22-year-old product tanker sanctioned by the European Union is making an unusual late-season voyage along Russia’s Northern Sea Route, highlighting the growing use of older, lower-specification vessels to move petroleum products through the Arctic.

The Dakar, a 21,300-dwt oil and chemical products tanker built in 2004, is carrying methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), a gasoline additive, and appears to be heading west along Russia’s Arctic coast, according vessel tracking data. The cargo was loaded onto another vessel in China in August before being transferred to Dakar off Yeosu, South Korea, in September.

Dakar is not an Arctic-specialist tanker, but vessel data