A Chinese container ship has completed a voyage through the Arctic to a UK port, cutting transit time to Europe in half and signaling a deeper alignment between Beijing and Moscow.
The Arctic, a region once defined by thick snow and isolation, is becoming a testing ground for power, now that it’s been proven that shipping times between Asia and the British Isles can be cut from roughly 40 to 18 days because of melting ice.
The Istanbul Bridge, a 965-foot vessel operated by Chinese line Sea Legend, reached its first European stop in Felixstowe, Britain’s largest container port, on Oct. 15 via the Northern Sea Route, a corridor running entirely through Russian-controlled Arctic waters….
China’s Polar Silk Road Reaches Britain Through Russia’s Arctic Corridor
