Russia’s state nuclear corporation says it expects Northern Sea Route (NSR) cargo traffic to rise 14 per cent in 2026, as Chinese shipping companies increase their traffic on the waterway and launch a scheduled service.
The route saw 23 container voyages between Russian and Chinese ports in 2025, and Chinese carriers are planning more than 30 by the end of the year, Russian news agency Interfax quoted Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev as saying on Tuesday.
In 2025, shipments between ports in Russia and China accounted for 5.4 million tonnes out of 37.02 million tonnes, or 15 per cent of the total, Likhachev added.
Zhejiang Seaport, a Chinese state-owned port operator, says shipping from China to Europe via the Suez Canal can take more than 40 days, compared with 18 to 20 days through the Northern Sea Route during the summer navigation season.
In an Aug. 13 statement, the company said the shorter route, increasingly reffered to as the China-Europe Arctic Express, could also cut emissions by about 50 per cent per one-way voyage.
The Guangzhou Port Authority, whose Nansha port is one of the scheduled stops on the China-Europe Arctic Express, says the route could also reduce cargo losses.
“The Arctic route’s naturally low-temperature transportation environment can effectively accommodate the transport of high-end goods with stringent temperature-control requirements or that are prone to deterioration, significantly reducing cargo losses during transportation,” it said in an Aug. 20 statement, citing goods like new-energy equipment, battery storage systems and auto parts.
The first voyage, operated by Sea Legend Shipping, went from the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in China to Felixstowe, in the United Kingdom and left on Sept. 22, 2025.
This year, Chinese company Sea Legend Shipping has scheduled eight voyages along the Northern Sea Route between August and October, with approximately one sailing a week.
The first one, the container ship Dubai Tower, left on Aug. 15.
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Norway: Norway softens self-imposed restrictions on allied surveillance aircraft monitoring Russia’s nuclear fleet, The Independent Barents Observer
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