Northeast Passage to create ‘Silk Road on Ice’

(People's Daily Online)    14:40, September 19, 2017

[File photo]

Following Chinese cargo ship Tianjian’s successful passage through the Vilkitsky Strait on Sept. 18, one of the most dangerous fairways of the Arctic Northeast Passage, China has sent five commercial vessels this year to test the feasibility of the new trade route, which can significantly reduce the time and costs of transportation between China and Europe.

The Northeast Passage, which is a shipping route along the Arctic Ocean coasts of Norway and Russia that stretches to the Pacific Ocean, has ignited the interest of many Chinese companies, as warming temperatures melt the icebound route in summer, creating a new path that can save time and costs of travel between ports in East Asia and Europe.

Chinese cargo ship Tianjian’s successfully traveled through the Vilkitsky Strait on Sept. 18. [Photo\Xinhua]

“By taking the Northeast Passage, it took only 25 days to travel from China’s Lianyungang to Denmark’s Esbjerg. Compared to the traditional Suez Canal route, this new route has saved us 12 days and 320 tons of fuel, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1,000 tons,” Shen Jianxin, the Capitan of the Tianjian, told Xinhua News Agency.

In addition to lower costs and shorter distances, the Northeast Passage has also provided a safer waterway for vessels in summer. By taking traditional maritime routes from Asia to Europe, cargo ships may face dangers caused by the southwest monsoons in the Indian Ocean, as well as threats by pirates, while the new route can easily avoid such problems.

The convenient waterway has led to a boom in volume of freight traffic in the region. According to Xinhua News Agency, 297 vessels have passed through the Northeast Passage in 2016, a number that has increased 35 percent compared to the previous year. Experts project that due to global warming, there will be more vessels using this new route to travel between China and Russia and between China and Europe.

Chinese vessels conducted their first voyage through the Northeast Passage in 2013. Since then, 10 Chinese vessels have regularly used the new route, conducting 14 missions. The five cargo ships traveling through the passage this year are mainly carrying goods, such as equipment and steel, but are also testing the possibility of normalizing the new route.

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