First container transit shipment from China via NSR with stops at Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Hamburg expected soon

VLADIVOSTOK. Sept 4 (Interfax) - The first container transit shipment from China along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) with intermediate unloading at the ports of Felixstowe, Rotterdam and Hamburg will set sail soon, Rosatom's special representative for the Arctic and deputy chairman of the State Commission for the Development of the Arctic, Vladimir Panov said.

"For the first time in the history of the development of the NSR, a container transit voyage is being prepared along the route from the port of Ningbo in China on September 15 of this year and unloading in the intermediate ports of Felixstowe, Rotterdam and Hamburg. The voyage is scheduled to conclude in St. Petersburg on October 17-20," Panov said at the Responsible Partnership for the Comprehensive Development of the Arctic and Far East session at the Eastern Economic Forum.

He also said there were 14 international container ship voyages between ports in Russia and China in the summer and fall navigation season of 2024.

"This is twice as many as in 2023. In this year's navigation season, Chinese and Russian shippers plan to organize more than 20 voyages," Panov said.