The 294-meter Flying Fish 1 traveled from St. Petersburg to Shanghai in just over three weeks, cutting two weeks off the traditional route via the Suez Canal.
This marks a major milestone for Arctic shipping, with nearly 20 transits expected this year, connecting Russian and Chinese ports through the Northern Sea Route.
The ship, operated by EZ Safetrans Logistics, maintained a steady speed without icebreaker assistance, highlighting how much Arctic conditions have changed.
This news may seem mundane but actually it’s pretty historic. Russia and China now have a huge logistical and competitive economic advantage. This transit corridor is only going to grow in throughput volume in coming years. And most importantly it cannot be (easily) blocked by the Western imperialists like the southern straits and canals can.
Yeah, climate change is a big reason why this route is now much more viable and why it will continue to gain in relevance. In that way this is quite a bleak sign…