China-Europe Arctic shipping route enters regular weekly operation

This photo taken on Oct. 13, 2025 shows the "Istanbul Bridge," the first vessel on the China-Europe Arctic container express route, arriving at Port of Felixstowe in Britain. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

HANGZHOU, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- The China-Europe Arctic container express route entered regular weekly operations for the summer season on Saturday, opening a faster and more resilient logistics link between China and Europe.

At around 7 p.m., the container ship Dubai Tower departed from the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in east China's Zhejiang Province, marking the start of the route's regular seasonal service.

The route crosses the Northeast Arctic Passage before reaching major European ports including Felixstowe in Britain, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Hamburg in Germany and Gdynia in Poland, according to the operator.

The route completed its first trial voyage in September 2025, reaching Felixstowe Port in about 20 days, nearly halving the time required via the Suez Canal and outpacing the China-Europe freight train.

"The route stands out for its advantages in transit time and supply chain security," said Xin Jianning, general manager of Zhejiang Seaport Logistics Group Co., Ltd.

The Dubai Tower carries high-value-added, temperature-sensitive goods, including energy storage cabinets, power batteries, photovoltaic modules and new-energy vehicle components, mainly from cities in the Yangtze River Delta.

Due to seasonal ice conditions, the route operates mainly from July to October, with at least eight voyages planned this year.

China-EU trade in goods reached 447.8 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of 2026, up 14.2 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.