China's New New Shipping Line planning first voyage to Murmansk in summer 2026 - Region Governor

MURMANSK. March 2 (Interfax) - Chinese container shipping company New New Shipping Line (NNSL) is planning to make its first voyage to the Murmansk port in summer this year, Murmansk Region Governor Andrei Chibis said following a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk.

He said that the parties had discussed a project to build a transshipment terminal for Belarusian cargo at the port in Murmansk.

"Last year, we agreed to partner with Chinese company New New Shipping Line and are planning a test port call as early as summer 2026. This will open up additional opportunities for exporters and importers from Belarus to enter Asian markets via the Arctic route," the regional governor said on Telegram.

As reported, NNSL and the Murmansk regional government inked an agreement on the development of container shipments via the Murmansk port in September 2025. The agreement involves organizing regular container shipments and joint projects to develop port infrastructure in order to increase cargo handling. A delegation from NNSL familiarized itself with the potential of the polar ports during a visit to Murmansk in November.

In April 2024, the Murmansk regional government and Arctic Gate Marine Terminal LLC, founded by Belarusian investors and later renamed to PortArctic Marine Terminal, signed an agreement to build a terminal for the transshipment of cargo from Belarus. The terminal could handle up to 25-30 million tonnes each year after the full ramp-up, with cargo operations scheduled to begin in 2028.