Chinese shipping company launches route through the Arctic

The Arctic has become a faster alternative for ships transporting goods between Europe and Asia, reports the Financial Times.

This week, the Chinese company Sea Legend is launching a regular service on what the shipping company calls the “ice route” through the Arctic Ocean.

The company will be transporting containers between Ningbo in China and Felixstowe in the UK. The route through the Arctic cuts the journey, which usually takes 40 days, by roughly half.

The Arctic Ocean is attractive to shipping companies wishing to avoid bottlenecks such as the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on the Red Sea, where the Houthi movement has once again begun to threaten maritime traffic.

Danish shipping company Maersk was the first to sail through the Arctic in 2018, but, like several other European shipping companies, has pledged not to use the route for environmental reasons.

Last summer, 23 voyages were made through the Arctic, compared with 15 in 2024.