Arctic convoys of World War II Arctic convoys of World War II The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys between August 1941 and May 1945, sailing via several seas of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, with two gaps with no sailings between July and September 1942, and March and November 1943. About 1,400 merchant ships delivered essential supplies to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease program, escorted by ships of the Royal Navy, Royal
Natural resources of the Arctic BTOE of energy, 31% from oil and 21% from natural gas). Russia’s vast energy resources account for 52% of the Arctic totals and Norway’s for 12%. Norway, which has been extracting petroleum in the North Sea since the 1970s, in the 2010s expected new discoveries in the Barents Sea. As of 2013 Russia was exporting 88% of crude oil via pipelines, with a large majority of the natural gas also transported in that manner. 76% percent of natural gas and 79% of oil were exported to Europe, with the second largest customer for oil being China and for natural gas