Chinese shipping company opens first regular Arctic container route, Russia takes control of waterway

(Central News Agency reporter Wu Qilin, Helsinki, 19th) Chinese shipping companies have received approval from Russia to open the first regular container route through the Arctic, reducing the voyage from Asia to Europe by half. Norwegian scholars analyze that this may not only be China's way of promoting the "Polar Silk Road", but also highlights that Russia is strengthening its control over geopolitics by controlling new waterways.

According to the Norwegian financial media "E24", Chinese shipping company Sea Legend will sail eight times between Ningbo, Zhejiang, China and Felixstowe, England, from mid-August to the end of October. This regular container route through the Arctic can significantly shorten the original voyage from about 40 days to about 20 days.

"Financial Express" quoted the airline's operation plan as saying that this route is particularly suitable for transporting temperature-sensitive and time-sensitive products such as lithium batteries and solar photovoltaics.

The report quoted Dylan Loh, a scholar at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, as analyzing that due to weather conditions and Russian geopolitical risks, this route is currently only a seasonal alternative for hedging and cannot completely replace the Suez Canal.

According to the Financial Times, a record 23 ships sailed the Arctic route last summer, up from 15 the year before. Shipbuilding orders also reflect the boom in Arctic shipping. A total of 167 ice-class ships were built globally last year, a record high in more than 10 years, and 164 more are expected to be built this year.

Although the willingness of shipping companies is quite high, the actual control of the route is still in the hands of Russia. The Russian state-owned nuclear enterprise (Rosatom), which is responsible for issuing passage permits, confirmed that it has so far released seven Chinese ships bound for Europe. The person in charge, Alexei Likhachev, said that compared with past trial flights or single trips, this year’s goal is to achieve regular routes with fixed flights every week throughout the entire airworthiness period.

Jan Jakub Solski, associate professor at the Law School of the University of Tromsø in Norway, analyzed in an interview with "E24" that Russia has invoked the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to formulate strict standards on the grounds of the special Arctic environment, thereby effectively controlling route traffic.

Solsky pointed out that for Russia, the Arctic route is mainly used to supply basic needs such as supplies and export resources to Arctic cities and towns, but opening up the passage of foreign ships can bring in funds. The passing ships only rely on Russia's infrastructure icebreaker services and navigation approvals, which gives Russia a huge dominance.

He said bluntly: "A country with infrastructure and control naturally has great power. Increasing the scale of international navigation is only a step towards this goal."

Compared with China's enthusiasm, large European airlines are afraid to avoid it. In addition to Denmark's Maersk, which has no longer used this route since it first sent a container ship on a trial voyage in 2018, Helene Tofte, director of climate and international cooperation at the Norwegian Shipowners' Association, also admitted that European shipowners have lacked interest in this route.

Toft pointed out that in addition to concerns about the fragile ecosystem, Russia, which is responsible for the review, is still subject to international sanctions, and applying for permits and icebreaker services is very complicated, so there is no willingness for commercial navigation.

The opening of the Arctic route is due to severe climate costs. According to recent research from the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom, the amount of Arctic winter sea ice will decrease by 5.8% between 2024 and 2025, the largest decline in history. The Norwegian government estimated last year that the Arctic sea would be completely ice-free in the summer of 2050. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre also called for a comprehensive assessment of the Arctic to be very important for Norway’s homeland security and economic development.

Former Canadian Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault recently sailed in the Arctic waters to witness the severe impact of climate change. He warned that global warming is rapidly increasing the geosecurity risks in the Arctic. If ships from Arctic countries continue to be stationed in large numbers, the entire national security situation will be unpredictable.