They are two passages. There's the northern passage, and I would point out to you that because of the way the currents in the Arctic work, the northern passage is open a lot of the time in the summer.
The Russians, very entrepreneurially, have decided to make this a major business. They have guaranteed shipping; they will get you through with the fastest times from east to west or west to east. They have, in fact, updated their ports to do so. They have icebreakers that you can rent to ensure your vessels get through. The Russians are pretty good at this.
We don't have the same luck. The reality is that as the ice is melting, it doesn't just melt like a couple of ice cubes in a glass of Scotch, where it just disappears and things taste better.