Chinese Merchant Fleet Avoids Western Controlled Waters with First Shipment Through Russian Arctic

Chinese Merchant Fleet Avoids Western Controlled Waters with First Shipment Through Russian Arctic

The Chinese merchant fleet has made its first ever container shipment to Europe via the Northern Sea Route, which passes through the Russian Arctic. The transit was facilitated with support from Russia’s nuclear icebreaker fleet, and nearly halved the shipping time compared to southern routes passing through the Malacca Strait and Suez Canal. The 25,000 ton vessel arrived at the port of Felixstowe, United Kingdom, after a 20 day transit from China’s Ningbo, and is scheduled to subsequently call at the European hubs of Rotterdam and Hamburg before going on to St. Petersburg. While drastically reducing transportation times, the Northern Sea Route’s strategic implications are particularly significant in light of the significant investments that the United States and Western navies have made in preparing options for an offshore blockade of China by controlling the Malacca Strait and other key maritime chokepoints.

Chinese Merchant Fleet Avoids Western Controlled Waters with First Shipment Through Russian Arctic
British Royal Navy Carrier Group in the Malacca Strait

As an alternative route for shipments that avoids Western controlled waters, the Northern Sea Route could significantly undermine possible Western efforts to choke off Chinese trade. Western navies and particularly the United States have in the past used their maritime power projection capabilities to appropriate civilian cargo from adversary states as a means of placing pressure on their economies, with a notable example was the targeting of Iranian oil tankers, the oil from which was taken by the U.S. Navy and subsequently sold with no compensation paid to Iran. A U.S. Naval Institute paper in 2020 proposed hiring mercenary privateers to target Chinese civilian shipping in a similar way should relations further worsen. Other examples of such actions have most often targeted North Korean and Iranian shipping, which have consistently been carried out without legal pretext.

Chinese Merchant Fleet Avoids Western Controlled Waters with First Shipment Through Russian Arctic
Chinese Merchant Fleet Avoids Western Controlled Waters with First Shipment Through Russian Arctic

Russia has deployed eight nuclear icebreakers, including four of the latest generation, to ensure year-round navigation on the Northern Sea Route, which is expected to provide considerable revenues to the Russian state. The vessels create channels through the ice, allowing conventional cargo ships to use the passage. Although safer than other routes, Western Bloc states led by the United States have sought to increase their presences in the Arctic, which may also place cargo shipments in the region at risk. The possibility of Chinese forces eventually being deployed to support maritime security in the Russian Arctic has been speculated in the past, although Russia has already significant expanded its regional military presence.