CHNL estimates transit cargo at 3.7 million tonnes, with tankers carrying the largest share. Four voyages linked Asia and Europe without Russian endpoints, against one in the full 2025 season.
PanStar Acro completed a 50-day round trip, carrying empty containers and no import cargo home. Seoul targets regular Arctic services in 2030, while Lee pledged sanctions compliance.
Panstar Arco reached Felixstowe 21 days after leaving Busan via the Northern Sea Route, before continuing to Rotterdam after an approximately 13,000 km voyage.
Haijie Shipping’s Dubai Tower reached Teesport on 9 September 2026, completing the first voyage of the carrier’s regular 2026 China-Europe Arctic container service.
PanStar Acro was scheduled to sail from Busan to Europe via the Northern Sea Route on South Korea’s first commercial Arctic voyage, carrying 837 TEU on a 40-45 day journey.
Russia’s Arc7 LNG carrier Alexey Kosygin has sailed north toward the NSR after delivery to Sovcomflot, drawing attention to winter-capable shipping linked to Arctic LNG 2.
China completed 14 NSR container voyages in 2025, up from 11 in 2024. The season ran 16 July–30 October 2025; Rosatomflot reported about 400,000 tonnes.
The European Union has lifted sanctions on Red Box Energy Services’ Polar Class heavy-lift vessels Audax and Pugnax, previously tied to Russian Arctic LNG construction, gCaptain reported.
Russia and China signed a non-binding MoU to jointly develop Arctic shipping via the Northern Sea Route, reinforcing strategic cooperation while maintaining flexibility.
