Sea Legend Plans Summer Voyages to the UK via the Arctic
The Chinese shipping company Sea Legend plans to launch regular voyages along the Northern Sea Route, which runs along Russia’s Arctic coast. The route is intended to connect Ningbo in eastern China with the British port of Felixstowe and could potentially reduce transit time to about 20 days, according to NDTV World.
According to The Telegraph, the first vessel—a 35,000-metric-ton container ship carrying approximately 1,700 containers and a crew of 20—departed from Ningbo on Friday. It is set to sail north through the Pacific Ocean, across the Bering Strait into the Arctic Ocean, and then, navigating around floating ice, on to the North Sea and Felixstowe, Britain’s largest container port.
The journey, approximately 7,500 miles long, is expected to take about three weeks. Sea Legend plans to operate weekly voyages for about two months, taking advantage of the brief summer period when Arctic waters are sufficiently free of ice. According to NDTV World, the traditional sea route between China and Europe via the Suez Canal usually takes between 32 and 40 days.
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Shipping companies are seeking alternative routes due to disruptions on established trade routes. Since late 2023, Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea have forced major container lines to largely avoid the Suez Canal and opt for the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope. According to the publication, more than 95% of container traffic between Asia and Europe has likely been rerouted via this route, with some voyages lasting up to 50 days.
At the same time, the Northern Sea Route is only accessible for a limited time: for most of the year, it is blocked by thick ice, and even in the summer, ships may require icebreaker escort. Access to the route is controlled by Rosatom—a state-owned corporation of Russia, the aggressor state, which operates a fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers. Some European companies have already stated that they will not use this route due to Moscow’s control over it during Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The South Korean company PanStar is also expected to conduct a test voyage this month. Peter Sand, an analyst at the logistics company Xeneta, told CNN that the launch of the route may be linked not only to trade but also to security policy and the desire to establish a presence in the Arctic.
