After a 26-day voyage, the first container ship operating on the China-Europe Arctic container express route, the Istanbul Bridge, arrived early Sunday morning at the Port of Gdansk in northern Poland, The State Council of the People's Republic of China said in a statement.
According to port authorities, the vessel began berthing at the Baltic Hub Terminal before 6 a.m., slightly delayed due to sea conditions. Loading and unloading operations started around 7 a.m.
The Istanbul Bridge departed from the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in China’s Zhejiang Province on September 23, carrying about 4,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo.
The ship called at ports in Britain and Germany before reaching Poland. It is scheduled to depart for the Netherlands on Sunday night after completing operations in Gdansk.
The China-Europe Arctic Express Route follows the Arctic’s Northeast Passage directly to Europe, cutting travel time compared with traditional maritime routes — approximately 40 days via the Suez Canal and 50 days via the Cape of Good Hope.
The Istanbul Bridge reached its first European stop, Felixstowe in Britain, in 20 days, roughly matching or exceeding the speed of China-Europe freight trains, which take around 25 days.
Li Xiaobin, chief operating officer of Sea Legend Line Limited, the route’s operator, said conditions along the Arctic route were favorable for shipping temperature-sensitive and time-critical goods.
“The low temperatures help preserve certain high-tech components,” he said. Sea Legend Line plans to launch regular summer voyages along the Arctic route by 2026. During the winter non-navigable period, the company aims to expand its express service network to Eastern Europe.
Sea Legend Line Limited is a shipping and logistics company that operates international container transport services. The firm is developing new maritime routes between Asia and Europe, including the China-Europe Arctic Express Route, designed to reduce transit time through northern sea passages.
Baltic Hub Terminal (also known as DCT Gdansk) is Poland’s largest container terminal and a key port facility on the Baltic Sea. It handles deep-sea container traffic and serves as a major gateway for trade between Asia and Central or Eastern Europe.
Ningbo-Zhoushan Port is a major Chinese port complex in Zhejiang Province and one of the world’s busiest in terms of cargo throughput. It serves as a central hub for container shipping and bulk cargo between China and global destinations.