Chinese ship 'Yongsheng' reached the port of Tianjin after a 55-day round trip through the Arctic Ocean, an accomplishment that marks China's efforts to turn the region into a new trade route, state-owned Xinhua agency reported.
Yongsheng left the Chinese port of Dalian on 8th of July, reached the Swedish port of Varberg around the middle of August and returned to Tianjin Sunday, covering more than 37,000 kilometers (around 23,000 miles).
In 2013, the merchant ship became the first one from China to cross the Arctic and reach the Dutch city of Rotterdam, but this is the first time it has made a round trip.
Yonsheng, the 19,000-ton vessel belonging to China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO), is specially equipped to cross the Arctic waters, where icebergs and ice sheets pose a grave risk to conventional ships.
Due to climate change, the Arctic route, also known as the Northeast Passage, is increasingly navigable during the summer months, opening up more possibilities for countries with high maritime traffic such as China.
A journey along this route from China to Europe measures around 12,700 kilometers (around 7,890 miles), while the same trip using the more conventional route, through Malacca Strait and the Suez Canal, measures 17,200 kilometers (around 10,690 miles).
The Northeast Passage can save ships time and fuel, however, difficulties posed by icebergs and ice sheets also have to be taken into account.
Experts believe global warming will soon open the Arctic route to navigation during summer without the need of Russian nuclear-powered icebreakers.
China, which has six of the ten busiest ports in the world, has wide interest in exploring the new route.
The routes near the Arctic, both in Europe and North America has been explored by sailors and explorers in the West for centuries, starting with Francis Drake in the 17th century.
Russia is another country, which has expressed interest in this "new" route, and plans to construct several ports along its normally inhospitable northern coast.
Chinese ship 'Yongsheng' reached the port of Tianjin after a 55-day round trip through the Arctic Ocean, an accomplishment that marks China's efforts to turn the region into a new trade route, state-owned Xinhua agency reported.
