China Launches First Voyage Along the 'Arctic Silk Road' Route
China has officially launched its first maritime voyage along the "Arctic Silk Road" route, which connects Chinese ports to European shores via the Northern Sea Route in the Arctic Ocean. The journey began with the container vessel Istanbul Bridge.
According to Xinhua, the vessel departed from the eastern coastal city of Fuzhou in Fujian Province yesterday and docked today at Ningbo Port in Zhejiang Province to complete its cargo loading before setting sail toward Europe.
The ship will head north from China’s coast, entering the Arctic Ocean via the Northeast Passage, with an expected arrival at the Port of Felixstowe in the United Kingdom on October 10.
This new route significantly shortens the shipping time between China and Europe to just 18 days—compared to 25 days via the China-Europe freight train, 40 days through the Suez Canal, and 50 days around the Cape of Good Hope.
The Arctic Silk Road will connect major Chinese ports such as Qingdao, Dalian, Shanghai, and Ningbo with key European ports including Felixstowe (UK), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Hamburg (Germany), and Gdansk (Poland).
