Chinese shipping company NewNew Shipping Line has completed the first round-trip voyage of the inaugural regular liner service connecting China to western Russia via the Arctic.
NewNew Polar Bear
The NewNew Polar Bear, a container ship, completed its inaugural round trip between Shanghai and St. Petersburg via the Arctic, making stops in Arkhangelsk and Baltiysk.
This voyage marks the first regular container shipping service in the Arctic, a region primarily used for transporting liquefied natural gas and crude oil. The service commenced with a launch ceremony in Moscow in July.
The trip is the first of what the company and Russian officials hope will be a regular seasonal liner service across the Arctic. The vessel’s Arc5 ice-classification will allow it to travel along the route between the months of July and November.
Ambitious Plan
NewNew Shipping Line entered the Arctic with five container vessels this summer with service along the full route between China and St. Petersburg. The ships are the 2,741 TEU Xin Xin Hai 1, the 2,741 TEU Xin Xin Tian 1 and the 3,534-TEU NewNew Star.
The NewNew Polar Bear’s roundtrip voyage is the first of its kind establishing regular service, rather than experimental or ad-hoc container ship voyages such as Maersk’s 2018 voyage with the Venta Maersk.
According to industry media reports NewNew Shipping Line plans to rapidly expand its Arctic fleet adding “up to 10 more boxships” on the route.
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Source- High North News
