The first container ship to operate on the China-Europe Arctic express route has arrived in Poland, marking a milestone in commercial shipping through the Arctic’s Northeast Passage.

The vessel, Istanbul Bridge, reached the Port of Gdansk in northern Poland on Sunday after a 26-day journey from the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in China’s Zhejiang Province, according to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency.

Carrying around 4,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo, the ship made stops in the UK and Germany before arriving in Poland. Its next destination will be the Netherlands.

The new China-Europe Arctic Express Route travels directly through the Arctic’s Northeast Passage, significantly reducing shipping time compared with traditional sea routes — which take around 40 days via the Suez Canal and about 50 days via the Cape of Good Hope.

The Istanbul Bridge reached its first European stop, Felixstowe in the UK, within 20 days — a duration comparable to or even faster than the China-Europe freight train, which takes roughly 25 days.

Li Xiaobin, chief operating officer of route operator Sea Legend Line Limited, said the Arctic route offers stable conditions for cargo sensitive to temperature and delivery times.

“The low temperatures help preserve certain high-tech components,” Li noted.

Sea Legend Line plans to introduce regular summer voyages on the Arctic route by 2026 and aims to expand its express service network to Eastern Europe during the winter months when the passage is closed to navigation.

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