[Video/Ningbo Daily, Ningbo Evening News]

China's new Arctic shipping route to Europe has completed its first container voyage, offering a faster and more flexible alternative to traditional sea and rail links.

At 9:30 pm local time on Oct 13, the container ship Istanbul Bridge, carrying 4,890 containers, arrived at the Port of Felixstowe, the United Kingdom's largest container port. The vessel set out from Ningbo Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang province 20 days earlier and navigated the Northern Sea Route. Docking at Terminal 3 with tugboat assistance, the ship's arrival was met with applause and cheers under the night lights.

According to the carrier, Sea Legend Shipping, the ship followed the planned Arctic route but slowed due to extreme weather in the Norwegian Sea, adding two days to the journey. Even so, the route still shortens transit time by around 20 days compared with the Suez Canal or Cape of Good Hope routes, and nearly a week compared with China-Europe rail.

The ship carried a variety of goods from Ningbo and Fuzhou, including daily necessities and energy storage units.

"We shipped a container of power batteries valued at around $300,000," said Zhou Chujing, logistics procurement manager at Sigenergy Technology. She added, "This new route cuts transit time by half, reduces overall costs by 40 percent, and precisely aligns with Europe's peak seasonal demand around traditional holidays."

After Felixstowe, the vessel will continue to Hamburg, Gdansk, and Rotterdam, forming a European network. The route is expected to run on a fixed summer schedule next year, eventually aiming for year-round operation, providing a faster, safer, and more autonomous option for Chinese exports to Europe.