Russia's state nuclear giant Rosatom, operator of the Northern Sea Route via the Arctic, said on Friday it had issued permits for seven Chinese transit vessels to sail to Europe via the NSR.
Chinese container company Sea Legend Shipping plans to launch the first regular container service to Europe via the NSR, Alexei Likhachev, Rosatom's head, said.
"Unlike previous container shipments via the Northern Sea Route, which were largely experimental or one-off in nature, the 2026 programme provides for a fully-fledged regular service with vessels sailing every week throughout the navigation season." Likhachev said in a statement.
Moscow has long hoped to turn the NSR into a new Suez Canal, but higher shipping costs and seasonal ice have made that difficult to quickly achieve.
Likhachev said the route was becoming a transport artery of global significance as the situation in the Persian Gulf deteriorated - a reference to the Strait of Hormuz situation - and as logistical and political uncertainty grew.
