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THIS DAY IN HISTORY

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Year
2018
Month Day
September 28

Arctic shipping lane opens due to ice melt; cargo ship completes the journey

On September 28, 2018, the cargo ship Venta Maersk docks in St. Petersburg, Russia, more than a month after departing from Vladivostok on the other side of the country. The successful traversal of the Russian Arctic was a landmark moment for the international shipping industry, as well as a sobering reminder of the extent to which the Earth's ice caps had melted.

The search for a fast way to move cargo from one end of Eurasia to the other by sea had begun centuries ago, and was a major driver of European exploration of North America. Until the 2000s, the fastest means of making the journey was to go around South Asia and reach Europe via the Suez Canal. As climate change led to a decrease in ice around the North Pole, however, opportunities arose to for shipping companies to use waters that were previously impossible to navigate.

The Venta was not the first ship to make the journey through the Russian Arctic, and it needed assistance from an icebreaker for several days. The Northern Sea Route, as it is commonly called, is still not a regular shipping lane, and it is only usable by "ice-class" ships like the Venta. Nonetheless, the Venta's journey, and shipping companies' recent investment in building more vessels capable of repeating it, signal that climatologists and businesspeople alike believe it’s a safe bet that Arctic ice will continue to melt.

READ MORE: Climate Change History

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ALSO ON THIS DAY

Sports
1920

Eight MLB players indicted in "Black Sox Scandal"

On September 28, 1920, a Chicago grand jury indicts eight members of the Chicago White Sox on charges of fixing the 1919 World Series. White Sox owner Charles Comiskey immediately suspends Chick Gandil, Buck Weaver, Happy Felsch, Swede Risberg, Fred McMullin, Eddie Cicotte, Lefty ...read more

On This Day In History: Fidel Castro announces that Cubans are free to leave the island
Cold War
1965

Fidel Castro announces that Cubans are free to leave the island

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Great Britain
1066

William the Conqueror invades England

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1990s
1994

Passenger ferry, Estonia, sinks, killing 852

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Ancient Egypt
48 B.C.

Pompey the Great assassinated

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Sports
1941

Ted Williams becomes last player to hit .400

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Sports
1960

Ted Williams hits home run in last major league at-bat

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Westward Expansion
1542

Spanish explorer sails into San Diego Bay

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Art, Literature, and Film History
1901

TV host Ed Sullivan born

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Inventions & Science
1918

Philadelphia parade exposes thousands to Spanish flu

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Crime
1988

A cult leader kills one of his followers

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American Revolution
1781

Battle of Yorktown begins

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World War I
1918

British soldier allegedly spares the life of an injured Adolf Hitler

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