A Fednav vessel is set to make the first independent passage of the Arctic Northwest passage shipping a cargo of nickel concentrate from Northern Quebec to China.

The vessel Nunavik, which the Canadian shipowner said was the most powerful conventional icebreaking bulker in the world, sailed from Deception Bay, Northern Quebec on 19 September bound for Bayuquan in China via the Northwest passage. It will be the first vessel to make an unescorted Arctic voyage of the Northwest passage and is carrying a cargo of 23,000 tonnes of nickel concentrate.

"Fednav is proud to have designed this remarkable ship and to plan the first independent commercial voyage through the Northwest Passage,” said Paul Pathy, president and co-ceo of Fednav Limited. “It is through the extraordinary capabilities of the Fednav team, the ship’s crew, and its world-leading technology that we can undertake this journey with confidence."

The vessel is being supported by a shore-based term of ice-navigation specialists and a navigation system from Fednav subsidiary Enfotec.

The route via the Northwest Passage is 40% shorter than the normal route from Quebec to China via the Panama Canal, which the company claimed will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1,300 tonnes.