Russia-Asia route through the Arctic Ships capable of breaking through two-metre-thick Arctic ice will deliver Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to east Asia. The tankers Ð built by South KoreaÕs Daewoo Ð will cut 10 days off the current 25-day journey ÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑ ARC7 tankers: 16 to be built, costing $316 million each. Length: 229m, breadth: 32.5m, capacity: 172,600m3 ÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑ Icebreaking LNG carriers Conventional LNG carriers Zeebrugge, Belgium Trans-shipment terminal for 8 million tonnes of LNG per year Sakhalin Russia currently operates just one LNG plant, on Pacific Island of Sakhalin. Annual capacity of 10 million tonnes Suez Canal Yamal liquefaction plant* Will produce 16.5 million tonnes of LNG per year Ð equivalent to 80% of ChinaÕs annual demand UNITED STATES CANADA ATLANTIC OCEAN Arctic Circle North Pole PACIFIC OCEAN RUSSIA JAPAN CHINA *Yamal LNG is owned by RussiaÕs Novatek (60%), FranceÕs Total (20%) and ChinaÕs CNPC (20%) Sources: Financial Times, Innovoil, World Maritime News © GRAPHIC NEWS