They travelled from Ulsan, South Korea, in late July to Siberia by way of the North East Passage, a sea lane that, in years past, was avoided because of its heavy ice floes.
Scientists report that the Arctic Ocean ice cap has been shrinking to unprecedented levels in recent summers, because of global warming, opening up many passages that were ice-choked in earlier times.
The passage.
Turns out, believe it or not, they were wrong. Way wrong.
Andrew Orlowski at the UK Register, tracked down the original reporting and found more sloppy reporting (at best) or eco-terror mongering (standard operating procedures) from the MSM.
The route offers significant gains over the alternatives via Suez or the Cape, it's shorter, quicker and cheaper. But until technological advances in the early 20th Century it was considered too hazardous for commercial operation.
Since the 1930s the route has seen major ports spring up, carrying over 200,000 tons of freight passing through each year, although this declined with the fall of the Soviet Union.
The UK Independent still has this headline on their website:
A Triumph for Man, a Disaster for Mankind
Two ships are finishing the first commercial navigation of the fabled North-east Passage. It is an epic moment – but also a vivid sign of climate change in the Arctic
Media hype. Check. But where is the hysterical quote from Greenpeace? Oh hells yeah, we got that too.
"This is further proof that climate change is happening now," said Melanie Duchin, Arctic Expedition leader on board the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise, who added that the development put greater pressure on world leaders to agree a major emissions cut at their Copenhagen meeting in December. "This is not a cause for celebration but cause for immediate action," she said.
I believe this is getting Salem Witch Trial crazy...in that these people really believe what they "feel" is true, therefore science must back it up. When you believe, facts back you up naturally. And when someone does research, they are apostates that are going straight to HELL!