China Europe Arctic Service makes a record of 20 days from Ningbo to Felixstowe

New shipping service has been started from China to Europe through Arctic route called “China Europe Arctic Service”, and its first ship Istanbul Bridge took exactly 20 record days to reach from Ningbo to Felixstowe, the vessel started on 23rd October and her journey ended on 13th October 2025.

Chinese Shipping Company, Sea Legend Shipping has launched the first regular service of China to Europe via Arctic Ocean.

The route includes part of The Northern Sea route (NSR) which is the shortest water route to connect West to East. On documents the NSR is from Kara Strait to Bearing Strait. NSR complete route is part of the Arctic Ocean and is within the territory of Russian EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone). We have mentioned in our earlier blog about Northern Sea route – History and Today.

The other major shipping lines – Maersk, MSC and CMA - have denied to try the new route through Arctic service. This trial and success will give an upper hand to China to exports its cargo to Europe through this route.

Above is the route comparison from Ningbo to Felixstowe.