News / Yangpu Newnew first to use the Northern Sea Route this year

Arkhangelsk port—photo from the website of the Governor of the Arkhangelsk Region

China’s Russia-focused liner operator Yangpu Newnew Shipping has launched the first Northern Sea Route (NSR) sailing of the 2025 season.

Vessel-tracking data shows that the 1,220 teu Xin Xin Hai 1 departed China’s Lianyungang port on 20 July, and is due to arrive in the White Sea port of Arkhangelsk next week.

Yangpu Newnew is cementing its status as the NSR’s most active user.

The Centre for High North Logistics, which compiles Arctic Ocean transit statistics, showed that, in the 2024 season, eight ships operated by Yangpu Newnew accounted for 13 out of the 14 sailings between the Chinese ports of Dalian, Tianjin, Rizhao, Shanghai and Guangzhou and the Russian ports of Arkhangelsk and St Petersburg. The other was made by China’s Safetrans Line.

Goods shipped from China to Russia included auto parts, construction equipment and materials, cars, clothing, footwear, and chemical products. In the opposite direction, containers held lumber, pulp, polyethylene, and cardboard.

The NSR season runs from July until October, when the Arctic ice melts sufficiently to facilitate shipping.

Last Friday, Arkhangelsk governor Alexander Tsybulsky told Russian media Yangpu Newnew would invest $2.52bn to take a 30% stake in a new deepwater terminal in the port.

He said: “We’re now working on technical issues to continue this work and sign a memorandum on the main areas that we are ready to use in this port.”

Russian state agency Rosatom, which manages the NSR infrastructure, is also developing the Arkhangelsk project.

Last year, Rosatom and Yangpu Newnew established a joint-venture in China to explore NSR cooperation. Both sides have discussed building five ice-breaking containerships to carry goods on the route.

Arkhangelsk has a unique geopolitical position, which makes it possible to become a key node of the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor, with access both to the west and east using the NSR. This will avoid the geopolitical risks associated with transiting the Baltic and Black Sea.

As Russia leans more on China for political and economic support, Safetrans’ associate Sea Legend Shipping is also offering an NSR sailing –a Far East-Europe voyage through the NSR, starting in September, offering an 18-day turnaround.