Russia has invested for years in the improvement of a large transport corridor across the northern Arctic seas. He was developing slowly, but now he's picking up a fast acceleration. It was the mediate State that entered the polar sea routes.
I wrote about the large Russian task of crossing the North Sea Way (PDM) through the Arctic seas 3 years ago ( („ („ („ ) (Jęczniak: Break by ice cream Arctic | Think Poland). The task developed slow due to the fact that its size and essential investments are huge.
This way has a immense advantage over the classical road from Asia to Europe via the Pacific and Suez Canal. The Arctic way runs 20 days and Suez twice as long. In addition today, due to war, you frequently gotta sail through the Cape of Good Hope. This gives you a 50-day journey, which dramatically increases logistics costs.
The PDM besides has its weaknesses. The biggest problem with this way is ice cream, covering it for most of the year. Only from August (sometimes from July to October) can ships flying there without Arctic class. However, the icebreaker’s aid is not used, and the icebreaker’s aid can be unexpectedly displayed on the route. Russia has a immense fleet – the only 1 in the planet – of atomic icebreakers (Szczęsniak: Arctic atomic fleet | Think Poland), however, it is inactive not possible to keep the year-round movement. This requires a much larger fleet of icebreakers operating commercial ship convoys. It is yet as many as 6,000 kilometres between the Bering Strait and Murmansk, the first unfreezing port.
In winter it is incomparably harder. Only tankers and gas tankers of the highest arctic Arc7 class carry LNG from Sabetta, and mainly in a European direction, which is much shorter and easier to sail in winter. There were approaches to independent swimming through gas carriers to Asia, but the cost of harm caused by the ice waves was huge.
But in August the improvement gained a completely fresh dynamic – the Chinese entered. "Sea Legend Shipping" opened the first regular connection to Europe through the Arctic road. Ships will depart weekly, 8 voyages involving tiny and medium-sized vessels. On 15 August, erstwhile troops were defiling on the streets, a 35-thousand container ship of Dubai Tower sailed from the port of Ningbo. It takes a burden of renewable energy equipment to Europe – batteries and photovoltaic modules. It will defeat 7.5 1000 nautical miles to the British port of Felixstowe. And in those days he is to scope Hamburg and Gdynia. It's not their first Arctic route. A year ago, a duplicate ship tested the passage, checking the conditions. And he did arrive at the British port in 20 days.
This fresh task was named China-Europe Arctic Express. For China it has a value importantly exceeding the saving of 20 or 30 days of the cruise. The Arctic road now replaces the routes used, leading by the very hot nodes of the planet logistics: Straits of Malakka, Indian Ocean, Red Sea, Suez Canal.
Cooperation with the Chinese shipowner “New fresh Shipping” who has had experience in the Arctic has been going there since 2023, mainly to Archangelsk. He's the carrier that crosses the Arctic transport way for China. This Chinese shipowner for peculiar orders (not to exposure Washington's sanctions to the main business core) and Rosatom (PDM operator) jointly build six Arctic class container ships – after 4.8 1000 TEUs. First 4 more this year. And in the future, they're going to start building an arctic-class arc7 icebreaker that can go through this way all year.
Chinese Arctic container shipments are increasing slow but systematically. In 2023 there were 7, in the next – 14, last – 24, and in this year there will be more than 30 (out of a full of 64 Chinese cruises along this route). Transports between Chinese and Russian ports are almost 15% of the full PDM transport. However, a much greater challenge is transit to Europe.
Behind the Chinese came the Koreans, who are on their first trial cruise. An ice-class container Panstar Acro sailed on 23 August and is due to arrive in Gdańsk on 15 September. Towers 2758 standard 20-foot containers (TEU). tiny compared to giants of Asia-Europe routes, but belongs to the class of Panamax class's most common container ships.
This is no longer supplying the Russian Arctic regions for which this Way was created. It is not just exports of energy natural materials, and not just trade with China. A transit PDM function is being built, which this year begins to take real shape. And in the context of global logistical chaos, it can be this "safe haven", though very cold.
Andrzej Szczęsniak
Think Poland, No. 37-38 (13-20.09.2026)
