China Merchant Ship on Northern Sea Route Passage

A 19000 tons cargo vessel is making the first journey by a Chinese merchant ship to Europe via the Northern Sea Route, reports the Barents Observer.

The cargo vessel “Hong Xing” owned by the Chinese shipping company COSCO left the northeastern port of Dalian on Thursday and is expected to take 33 days to reach Europe via the Bering Strait and Russia's northern coastline. The vessel is headed for Rotterdam and is due to arrive on September 11, 2013.

For China, the world’s No 2 economy after the United States, the route would save time and money. The distance from Shanghai to Hamburg is 5,200 kilometers shorter via the Arctic than via the Suez Canal, reported Barents Observer, citing Huigen Yang, director general of the Polar Research Institute of China.

Source: Barents Observer