With the support of the Chinese Embassy in Russia and the China-Russia Chamber of Commerce, the inauguration ceremony of the Arctic Express No. 1 by China Newnew Shipping was held on 5 July 2024 at the Bereirast Logistics Centre in Moscow. The ceremony was attended by Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui, General Director of the Russian Export Centre Veronika Nikishenna, Governor of Arkhangelsk Region Alexander Tsybulsky, President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce in China Zhou Liqun, as well as leaders of the Russian Federal Customs Service, the Moscow Regional Government, Rosatom and other relevant entities.
Arctic Express 1 is a sea-railway line jointly promoted by Xinxin Shipping Company and Rosatom. Container cargoes starting from domestic ports arrive at the port of Arkhangelsk in Russia via the Arctic Ocean route, and are then transported by rail to the logistics centre of Berekhorst in Moscow, with a full transport distance of about 13,000 kilometres, and the overall transport time is expected to be 20-25 days. Compared to the conventional route through the Suez Canal, Arctic Express 1 reduces the distance by 5,000-8,000 kilometres and, with fewer ports of call along the way, the transit time can be reduced by more than 20 days. 2024, it is expected that more than 20,000 TEUs will be transported via this express route.
On 7 July 2023, SINO-SINOTRANS Ltd. successfully launched a fixed liner service on the Arctic route from St. Petersburg to Shanghai, China, and operated 14 round-trip voyages in the same year, becoming a pioneer of the "Silk Road on Ice" advocated by the Heads of State of China and the Russian Federation. Building on the success of 2023, the Arctic Express No. 1 for the first time operates a domestic container liner service via the port of Arkhangelsk, which can shorten the sea distance by 2,600 kilometres compared to the port of St. Petersburg and reduce the transport time by one week. At the same time, with the support of Russian Railways and local government departments, the railway container train from Moscow Berekhorst Logistics Centre to the port of Arkhangelsk will also run steadily, realising seamless sea-rail transport connection with the Arctic Ocean route of Xinxin Shipping.
In recent years, with the intensification of global warming, the melting speed of the Arctic ice is getting faster and faster, and the Arctic shipping lanes have begun to become a topic of great concern. The development of Arctic shipping lanes has great advantages. The length of the Arctic shipping lanes is much shorter than that of traditional sea routes, which can significantly reduce transport times.
There are three Arctic shipping lanes, including the Northeast Passage along the Eurasian continent, the Northwest Passage along the North American continent, and the Central Passage through the polar region.
The Northeast Passage is the shortest route from Europe to Asia through the Russian Arctic waters. The route is 5,600 kilometres long and begins at the Kara Channel and ends at Cape Jerzynegoff. Rosatom manages the navigation of the Arctic route, ensures ice-breaking safety and carries out regular ecological monitoring of the waters of the Arctic route. International experts have confirmed that the rapid development of the Arctic route has no negative impact on the environment.
In July 2017, China and Russia proposed cooperation on Arctic shipping routes to jointly build the "Silk Road on Ice", and on 26 January 2018, China formally put forward a multi-party effort to build the "Silk Road on Ice" in the first-ever white paper on China's Arctic Policy. ".
According to relevant statistics, the total amount of transit cargo transport on the Arctic route in 2023 will be 2.129 million tonnes. Experts said that the opening of the "Arctic Express 1" is an important milestone in the development of the Silk Road on ice, which is a brand new starting point for polar development, and the "Arctic Express 1" will surely shine in the grand blueprint of the Silk Road on ice and bring new opportunities and prospects for global economy and cooperation! It will bring new opportunities and prospects for global economy and cooperation!
At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June 2024, China's Newnew Shipping and Rosatom signed a co-operation agreement to build a fleet of ships capable of navigating the Arctic shipping lanes all year round, with the first batch of five ARC7 class polar container ships to be built, the first of which is expected to enter into service in 2027, and will be able to sail from summer to the Arctic. The vision of moving from summer sailing to year-round navigation will then be realised!
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