On the evening of October 17, the cargo ship "Hongwei," loaded with timber, boards, fertilizers, and other goods, successfully returned to Longtan Port after a month-long journey from the Arctic. This marks the successful return of the first Arctic route cargo ship from Nanjing Port. On October 17, the "Hongwei" vessel completed its navigation mission flawlessly.
The "Hongwei" embarked on its maiden voyage on August 15, departing from Nanjing Port and traversing the Arctic Northeast Passage (via the Bering Strait and Russian Arctic waters), ultimately reaching a major European port. As a "golden waterway" connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Arctic route offers significant advantages over traditional shipping routes. Captain Zhang Zhenfang remarked, "This is my first time navigating through the Arctic route. Compared to the traditional routes via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal or around the Cape of Good Hope, the journey was shortened by over 3,000 nautical miles, saving more than ten days in transit time, which significantly improves both efficiency and cost."
Zhang noted that summer conditions in the Arctic waters are relatively favorable for navigation, with much less wind and waves than expected, and no icebreaker was necessary. Zhou Jianwei, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Nanjing Port Longtan Container Co., Ltd., stated that currently, there is substantial demand for cargo on this route, and future scheduling will depend on cargo volume.
It is understood that the outbound journey primarily involved automotive vehicles and components, along with white goods sourced from Anhui and the surrounding areas of Nanjing, which were transported via the Yangtze River inland shipping and some road transport to Nanjing Port. High-value industrial products and machinery from the Jiangsu Province's central and northern areas were transferred to Nanjing Port through rivers and canal routes. The opening of the Arctic route constitutes a strategic move in response to global climate changes and the evolution of international trade.
Huang Heqing, Director of the Port Construction Department of the Municipal Transportation Bureau, emphasized that the launch of the Arctic route plays a critical role in strengthening Nanjing Port's function as a shipping hub, facilitating its transformation from a "river-sea transshipment port" to an "international shipping hub." Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan, new achievements have been continually made in building the regional shipping logistics center in Nanjing. Three multimodal transport hubs—Longtan, Xiba, and Xinxingwei—have been established, and several major provincial projects such as expanding the Longtan port railway and the Longtan Phase VII project have commenced. The route network has been continuously upgraded and optimized, with Nanjing Port now boasting a network of 17 near-sea and far-sea routes directly reaching Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, South America, India, the Arctic, North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East, along with stable direct routes to Tianjin, Jingtang, Guangzhou, and Qinzhou. The transfer lines cover the Yangtze River Basin across six provinces and one city, achieving full coverage of major ports within the region.
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