Resumen de Built to break
Since June, about 200 workers have been assembling the skeleton of the Baltika, the first of a new breed of ice-breaking ship designed to cut a wide path through Arctic ice with its asymmetric hull. On completion early next year, Baltika will enter service under the Russian flag, clearing the way for large ships bound for ports like St Petersburg in the Gulf of Finland. Baltika will be in the vanguard of global shipping's rush into the Arctic. Thinning ice is already luring vessels to the waters off Russia's northern coast, which offer a shorter route from Europe to Asia than the typical passage through the Suez Canal. In 2012, 46 ships were granted passage by Russia's Northern Sea Route Administration. This year, the number is already over 250.
