Chinese carrier Sea Legend launches Arctic container service linking China and Europe

Sea Legend Shipping, a niche Chinese container line affiliated with Safetrans Line, has announced the launch of a new seasonal container route connecting China and Northern Europe via Russia’s Northern Sea Route (NSR), reports Splash247. The inaugural voyage is scheduled for September 2025.

The service will be operated by the Istanbul Bridge, a 4,890 TEU ice-capable vessel and will call at Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Hamburg and Gdańsk. The estimated transit time is 18 days, substantially faster than the 30–50 days typically required via the Suez Canal or Cape of Good Hope.

Sea Legend’s service targets high-value, time-sensitive cargo, such as electronics and precision goods, that benefit from shorter delivery times. However, industry analysts note that this remains a niche experiment rather than a sign of wider industry adoption.

While China has been vocal about advancing a so-called “Polar Silk Road” in partnership with Russia, the Northern Sea Route still faces major commercial barriers: seasonal ice variability, limited search and rescue infrastructure, lack of transshipment hubs, and geopolitical risks. In 2024, total cargo volumes on the NSR amounted to just 3 million tonnes—dwarfed by the 1.57 billion tonnes that transited the Suez Canal in 2023.

Sea Legend is expected to make only a single voyage along the NSR in 2025, which is reportedly already fully booked.