China Pushes Arctic 'Ice Silk Road' to Cut Europe Shipping Time
Sea Legend’s weekly sailings aim to cut the trip from about 40 days to 20 as China tests a faster Arctic link to Europe.
- This weekend, Singapore-incorporated, Chinese-run shipping line Sea Legend launches the first regularly scheduled container service linking Ningbo, China, with Felixstowe, Britain, via the Northern Sea Route.
- Amid attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait, companies are exploring the Northern Sea Route to bypass geopolitical chokepoints disrupting established trade lanes.
- The 3,500-mile passage reduces sailing time from roughly 40 days to about 20 days depending on ice conditions, while Russian state nuclear company Rosatom administers shipping permits along the route.
- Western observers cite Beijing's expansion into the 'Ice Silk Road' as raising security concerns, with joint Chinese-Russian military exercises and research missions increasing in the region.
- Sea Legend CEO Li Xiaobin aims to achieve 'year-round navigation' within a decade, while competitors like New New Shipping are also increasing Arctic voyages as commercial viability grows.
26 Articles
26 Articles
China's Polar Silk Road shortens the way to Europe. Germany benefits – but risks new dependencies from Russia.
The Chinese container carrier Sea Legend will launch its first regular container voyage on August 15 between Ningbo in eastern China and Felixstowe in the UK via the Arctic. Due to melting polar ice, the northern Arctic shipping route is not only becoming increasingly navigable, but the route is also significantly shorter and avoids traditional bottlenecks such as Somali piracy and Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. Finally, the shipping company no …
China's New Arctic Route Is A 20-Day Voyage To Europe. But There's A Catch
Global conflicts, tariffs and disruption around established trade routes have pushed shipping companies to look for alternatives. The Suez Canal route has become increasingly difficult to rely on.
China has secured a third route connecting Asia to Europe by extending its Belt and Road Initiative to the Arctic, following its expansions on land and sea. The Financial Times (FT) reported on the 13th (local time) that the Chinese shipping company Sea Legend has launched the first regular container route through the Arctic. This is the first Arctic route in the world where ships depart on fixed dates every week. Sea Legend [shipped] the first …
Dragon on ice: China pursues quiet conquest of the Arctic * WorldNetDaily * by Dominique L. Plewes, Real Clear Wire
Source link At an Arctic Council meeting in Rovaniemi, Finland, in May 2019, Mike Pompeo asked whether the world wanted the Arctic Ocean to become another South China Sea. Many Arctic specialists regarded the comparison as overwrought. China’s visible presence amounted to one working icebreaker, a second still fitting out, and a research station on
This week, a Chinese shipping company announced the first liner service between China and Europe via the Northern Sea Route. This means nearly halving travel time for cargo ships. Could this be an alternative to routes through the geopolitically fragile Middle East? Last year, 103 ships sailed along the north.
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