China Plots Expansion of Shipping on “Polar Silk Road” aka Russia’s NSR

Chinese officials are continuing to promote the benefits of Russia’s Northern Sea Route, which they have taken to calling the “Polar Silk Road.” This comes as their containership Istanbul Bridge is completing its first round of port calls in Northern Europe ahead of the launch of full service in 2026.

China’s Global Times newspaper announced on Monday, October 20, that the shipping company operating the Istanbul Bridge, Sea Legend Shipping, plans to operate regular summer voyages along the route by 2026. It made history last week, completing the fastest transit between China and the UK in just over 20 days using a non-polar containership. The ship is also larger than the vessels that are making the transit from another Chinese shipping company, NewNew Shipping.

Plans for the service come as China and Russia reported they signed a new agreement to jointly develop and commercialize the Northern Sea Route. China’s Minister of Transport, Liu Wei, met with Russian officials, including the Director General of Rosatom, Alexey Likhachev, in the second session of the Subcommittee of Cooperation on the Northern Sea Route in Harbin, China. Rosatom reports that an action plan was approved and along with a roadmap aimed at creating a sustainable transport corridor.

The Chinese Ministry of Transport says the two sides are promoting cooperation, including Arctic shipping, safety, and polar shipbuilding and technology. They said the goal of the subcommittee is to promote cooperative development of Arctic waterways. China reports that it plans to develop regular Arctic connections, including long-term European port contracts. This, they said, will facilitate deeper integration of high-end manufacturing and new energy industries from China’s Yangtze River Delta with the European market.

Signing of the cooperation agreement in China on October 14 (Rosatom)

The Istanbul Bridge reached Gdansk, Poland, on Sunday, October 19, with officials highlighting the importance of the port call for the transshipment of goods to Central Europe. They say it will permit them to deliver Chinese goods at a lower cost and quicker to the Czech Republic and Hungary. The ship then departed and is making its way to Rotterdam.

The reports are calling the opening of the service a “significant shift” that will improve the flow of goods between Asia and Europe. China highlights that in the first six months of 2025, it exported over $465 billion worth of goods to Europe, with the trade up nearly four percent over 2024. They said the European Union now accounts for 13 percent of China’s foreign trade.

The Global Times says the relatively mild sea conditions along the Northern Sea Route make it well-suited to temperature-sensitive and time-critical cargoes. They say the route could help China to boost exports of lithium electronics, photovoltaic products, and new-energy vehicles.

Sea Legend, which lists a fleet of 18 vessels on its website, said the new services took three years to plan. It had to overcome challenges, including upgrading the ship’s equipment, personnel training, and certification, as well as developing accurate weather and navigation forecasts.

The company says it plans for a weekly or biweekly summer service and will use the information from these first runs to improve the specifications and design of new ice-reinforced ships. Ultimately, it hopes to have year-round navigation on the China-Europe Arctic route. For now, during the non-navigation periods, they will offer an express service requiring 25 days to Europe by combining the Suez Canal route and rail links.