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All the sea routes from San Francisco of USA to Japan are across Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean. However the globe depicts that the shortest route is across North Pacific Ocean and East China Sea. Why?

The Northern Passage runs along the Arctic coast of Russia between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. Northeast Passage route is one-third of the distance of the traditional route through the Suez Canal. The entire route lies in Arctic waters and parts are free of ice for only two months per year. Although in the far north the sea ice is permanent; at lower latitudes it is seasonal. So the Arctic shipping routes aren't used all the time. The Russians have been using the route for decades, with the help of icebreaker ships. It has until recently been closed to foreign ships, but now the Russians want to open it up and are hoping that it will eventually complete with the Suez Canal as one of the most popular shipping routes. Ice has however so far been an insurmountable obstacle to commercial transit traffic, but in recent years, strong scientific evidence has shown that the Arctic ice cover is diminishing, both in thickness and extension. This is believed to be caused by climate change, and if current trends continue, the Northern Sea Route will properly become a commercially viable transit route- eventually.


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