HARBIN, October 14. /TASS/. The first container ship from China to Europe has completed its journey along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) as the vessel, which departed from the port of Ningbo on September 23, arrived in the British port of Felixstowe, Russia’s state corporation Rosatom reported.
The trans-Arctic route halved cargo delivery time compared to traditional southern routes. The passage through the Russian Arctic took 20 days.
The historic voyage marks another step toward unlocking the NSR's potential and its transformation into a sustainable logistics corridor between Europe and Asia, Rosatom said. The NSR will complement the existing routes and significantly contribute to the growth of global trade, the state corporation added.
The container ship weighing almost 25,000 tons entered the NSR waters on October 1. After unloading at the port of Felixstowe, the vessel will proceed to other European ports.
The shorter distance enables the NSR route not only to significantly shorten transit time and cargo transportation costs, but also to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Rosatom said.
The Northern Sea Route is the shortest shipping route between the western part of Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region. The route’s length is about 5,600 km. In 2024, the volume of freight transported along the NSR reached a record of almost 37.9 mln tons, which is 1.6 mln tons higher than in the previous year.