The Chinese port of Ningbo is preparing to launch a cargo ship that will test a new shipping route through the Northern Sea Route, Politico reports.
The ship is scheduled to set sail on September 20. Although Chinese companies have already conducted trial shipments via the Northern Sea Route, the upcoming route will be more complex. “They have already carried out point-to-point shipments, for example from a Chinese port to Hamburg or St. Petersburg. This trip is different. The ship will dock at four ports in China, then travel through the Arctic and then visit the UK, Rotterdam, Hamburg and Gdansk. "It really looks more like a regular shipping route," Malte Humpert, founder of the American Arctic Institute, told the publication.
He noted that just 5 to 10 years ago, everyone thought that shipping along the Northern Sea Route would be unlikely before 2040-2050. "Now it's 2025 and the Chinese are already doing it. Is it profitable for them? It doesn't matter; it's about accumulating knowledge, understanding how to do it. "That's what the Chinese do - they accumulate experience and train crews," the expert said.
Humpert explained that the development of the Northern Sea Route has become possible thanks to climate change, since these changes are happening faster in the Arctic region than in other parts of the planet. However, he believes that world trade will continue to flow mainly along the traditional route through the Suez Canal.
“If we fast forward 30-40 years and by then the ice cover will have decreased by another 30-50%, we will have half a year without ice on the Northern Sea Route, then the Arctic will become a very attractive option. The Arctic will not replace the Suez Canal anytime soon. That is not the point. Both the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal are still here. But the Arctic will be an additional route,“ the expert concluded.