The container ship Istanbul Bridge (flag of Liberia) is expected to arrive at the port of Felixstowe, United Kingdom, on October 13 after a roughly 20-day voyage from China along the Northern Sea Route.
The transit marks the first westbound voyage of the new China–Europe service Arctic Express, launched by the Chinese shipping company Sea Legend.
According to Automatic Identification System (AIS) data and port schedules, Istanbul Bridge departed from Ningbo-Zhoushan on September 22–23.
During the voyage, the vessel covered approximately 7,690 nautical miles at an average speed of around 16 knots.
The Centre for High North Logistics (CHNL, Norway) estimated that the trip from China to Felixstowe via the Northern Sea Route took about 20 days, compared with 40–50 days typically required for a voyage through the Suez Canal, a distance of about 11,000 nautical miles.
The service, promoted in China under the China–Europe Arctic Express brand, was announced by regional authorities on September 21–22, when the port of Jiangyin in Fujian Province reported the call of Istanbul Bridge and the start of the new line.
The route connects several Chinese loading ports — Qingdao, Shanghai, Fuzhou, and Ningbo — with major ports in Northern Europe, including Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Hamburg, and Gdansk.
According to Fujian Customs, the first westbound export shipments included lithium batteries and chemical products sent from the port of Fuzhou.
Sea Legend is a shipping company with Chinese capital, registered as Sea Legend Shipping Co., Ltd. (also known as SeaLegend Line). The company organizes seasonal maritime transport via the Northern Sea Route between East Asia and Europe.
Centre for High North Logistics (CHNL) is a Norwegian research and logistics institution that monitors shipping activities and transport statistics in Arctic regions, providing analytical data on the use of the Northern Sea Route.
Port of Felixstowe is the largest container port in the United Kingdom, operated by Hutchison Ports (UK) Limited. It serves as a major gateway for containerized trade between Europe and global markets.
