Hangzhou, August 17 (Xinhua) -- At around 19:00 on August 15, the "Burj Khalifa" of Haijie Shipping slowly departed from the Chuanshan Port Container Terminal of Ningbo Zhoushan Port, marking the official entry of the Ningbo Zhoushan Port China Europe Arctic Container Line (referred to as the China Europe Arctic Express) into a new stage of weekly operation during the summer navigation season. The normal operation of this route has opened up a fast, efficient, green, low-carbon, and resilient northbound logistics channel for China Europe trade.

According to the official introduction of the CEO of the route operator Haijie Shipping, the first ship of the China Europe Arctic Express in 2026 will make its first call at Ningbo Zhoushan Port in China, and then stop at ports such as Frixtor in the UK, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Hamburg in Germany, and Gdynia in Poland after leaving the country. This voyage is loaded with high value-added thermal goods such as energy storage cabinets, power batteries, photovoltaic modules, and new energy components. The source of goods is concentrated in triangle cities such as Ningbo and Yiwu, accurately matching the export delivery needs of the European market during peak seasons.

As an important extension of the "the Belt and Road" initiative, the "Ice Silk Road" is of great significance in improving shipping efficiency, ensuring energy security, and stabilizing the supply chain of the international logistics chain. On September 22, 2025, the first trial voyage of the "China Europe Arctic Express" was completed between Zhoushan Port and Felixstowe Port in Ningbo. The ship sailed through the Arctic Northeast Passage for a total of 20 days and arrived at a UK port, fully verifying the feasibility of the entire process of waterway passage, transportation of new energy dangerous goods, and overseas port docking. On this basis, through continuous improvement of operational standards, fleet configuration, and port facilities over the past year, the seasonal weekly products of the China Europe Arctic Express have officially achieved normalized operation.

In terms of timeliness and supply chain security, the advantages of China Europe Arctic Express are prominent, "said Xin Jianning, General Manager of Zhejiang Port Logistics Group Co., Ltd. Compared with the traditional 40 day journey of the Suez Canal, this route only takes 20 days one-way, reducing the journey by nearly half and effectively avoiding problems such as unstable shipping schedules and rising costs caused by geopolitical disturbances.

Due to the natural ice conditions in the Arctic, the annual navigation window for the China Europe Arctic Express is concentrated from July to October. The port and shipping company operators plan to arrange at least 8 voyages this year, deploying 7 to 8 ice enhanced vessels adapted to the Arctic shipping route for rotation, some of which will use liquefied natural gas clean energy power to further improve environmental friendliness. The medium to long term plan for this route is to implement stable navigation for 4 months each year, continuously upgrade the hardware and software support for polar navigation, and gradually extend the navigation duration.

Editor: Wu Zhengsi

(Author Xinhua Finance)