While the Northern Sea Route presents opportunities for shorter Europe-Asia shipping distances, it is still beset with challenges, said Norwegian shipbroker Joachim Grieg & Co.

Melting ice caps, the result of global warming, has made shipping through the route viable, although such vessels would need to be ice-classed.

In 2012, about 45 vessels transited the Northern Sea Route and that number exceeded 70 ships last year.

It is expected that even more ships would transit the route this year. Navigation via the route - from the Barents Sea along the Russian coast, through the Bering Strait and down to the Pacific Ocean - is reported to be about 40% shorter in distance compared to the usual route through the Suez Canal and around the Cape of Good Hope.

However, Joachim Grieg & Co noted that icebreaker convoys would be needed during the start of summer when the ice caps are thicker, which would cause trickier navigation than during mid-summer.

Joachim Grieg & Co said, "The Arctic area is a geographically complicated area to navigate in, which explains why the [ship] master is required to have a minimum of 15 days of prior experience travelling through icy conditions."

European LNG suppliers eyeing the Asian market should also take note that the distance from Norway to Asia Pacific through the Northern Sea Route is about the same as that from the Arabian Gulf to Japan, meaning that arbitrage opportunities could be limited.