Two more shipping companies say they won’t use Arctic routes

Hapag-Lloyd and MSC cited environmental concerns in their decision to forego the route.

As the polar sea ice continues to retreat, new shortcuts, especially the Northern Sea Route along Russia’s Siberian coast line, have become available as seasonal shipping lanes. Earlier this fall, France’s CMA CGM container shipping company — the world’s fourth largest — became the first major operator to back away from shipping via the Arctic’s emerging shipping routes. The company cited environmental concerns of operating in the region’s challenging and vulnerable waters as primary impetus for its decision.