Two German ships have become the first Western commercial vessels to navigate the Northeast Passage - a shipping route which goes from Asia to Europe around the Russian Arctic.
One of the captains told the BBC that their journey opened new, exciting possibilities for the whole international shipping community.
"I was slightly surprised by what we saw," he told us as we stood on the bridge of his cargo lifter.
"There was virtually no ice on most of the route. Twenty years ago, when I worked in the eastern part of the Arctic, I couldn't even imagine something like this.
"I think it will soon be possible to navigate the Northeast Passage all year round. We were escorted by an ice-breaker but, frankly, we could have done without it. This is great news for our industry."
In the past, no foreign ships were allowed to cross the Northeast Passage.
But now Russia's security concerns have given way to the desire for a slice of the fat pie which is the international shipping business.
"This is an event of huge strategic importance," said chief commercial officer of the Arkhangel Sea Port Viktor Vorobyov. "It will signal the rebirth of this shipping route, and the renaissance of the whole of the Russian North."
Now heres the environmental concerns:
"This is a very clear signal of how weak the Arctic ice has become," says Alexei Kokorin of WWF Russia.
 The Northeast Passage route has alarmed some conservationists |
"The area of really heavy ice in the Arctic is now 10 times smaller than 10 or 20 years ago. Global warming is becoming more and more dominant - and it will affect all of us".
I think it is really interesting that global warming has actually helped Russia's economy. Its really ironic that such a dominating issue of today has caused success with a certain shipping route.
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