China and Russia have launched the Arctic Express rail-sea cargo service

NewNew Shipping and Rosatom have launched a new cargo service that transports goods by rail from Moscow to the Russian port of Arkhangelsk. From Arkhangelsk, cargo is shipped across the Arctic and North Pacific oceans to ports in China. The 13,200 km voyage takes 20 to 25 days, making it approximately one week faster than the Northern Sea Route (NSR).

Rosatom, which manages the NSR, and NewNew Shipping have partnered in a joint venture to develop a fleet of five ice-class boxships. These vessels, scheduled for delivery in 2027, will operate year-round to support this service.
Currently, the massive accumulation of containers occupies about 80% of the yard space at Chittagong Port, well above the 60% threshold where congestion typically starts to hinder port operations. Port data indicates that, following the restoration of internet service, the port authority has managed to deliver around 3,500 TEUs of containers per day over the past two days.