MOSCOW, July 7. /TASS/. China-based Newnew Shipping Line will supply five ice-class vessels with a capacity ranging from 1,200 TEU to 2,500 TEU [20 ft container equivalent - TASS] for use on scheduled Northern Sea Route (NSR) shipping runs, Ke Jin, spokesman for the Chinese shipping company, told reporters on the sidelines of a TASS press conference on the launch of scheduled container service between Russia and China along the NSR.

"We will deliver five ships this year. All of them are ice-rated. The vessels have capacities ranging from 1,200 TEU to 2,500 TEU, he said.

Shipping runs along the NSR will continue until October-November, the spokesman noted.

"This depends on the weather," Ke said. "Probably, the weather will be good and we will then extend [navigation] until November because it will be both interesting and beneficial for us," he added.