A Chinese cargo ship is attempting the country’s first commercial transit of the Northeast Passage above Russia, as a changing climate opens a short-cut that promises to reduce shipping times between Asia and Europe.
The Yong Sheng, a 19,000-tonne vessel operated by the state-owned Cosco Group, set sail on August 8 for Rotterdam from Dalian in northeastern China. According to Cosco’s website, the journey via the Bering Strait could shave as much as 15 days off the traditional route through the Suez Canal and Mediterranean Sea.
China, which claims to be a “near-Arctic state”, has become more aggressive in asserting its interests in the northern Pacific and Arctic oceans. In May, Beijing secured “permanent observer” status at the Arctic Council, a group uniting the eight countries with territory in the polar region.