The Arctic sea routes

A ship from Shanghai to Rotterdam sails about twenty thousand kilometres through the Suez Canal, and about thirteen thousand along the north coast of Russia. For most of history the northern way was closed by ice. It is now open for four or five months a year, and Russia, which has the only large fleet of icebreakers, means to make it a year-round route that it controls and charges for. In August 2026 a Chinese line began the first regular weekly container service to Europe by this route, as war had made both the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz dangerous.

The wider region and the powers in it: The Arctic.

Where it stands · September 2026

On 2 September 2026 Russia's president announced plans for year-round navigation on the Northern Sea Route. On 11 September China's Sea Legend launched the Polar Silk Road, offering 18 to 25 day Arctic service to Europe in 2026. On 13 September a South Korean container ship arrived in Britain via the Arctic route in 21 days. On 14 September the European Union's foreign policy chief said the Union needs icebreakers. On 21 September Russia adapted fertilizer and coal terminals in Baltic and Arctic ports to export Black Sea grain.

What the dispute is about

Whose water. Russia requires ships on its northern route to ask permission, take Russian pilots and pay for Russian icebreakers, citing a clause of the law of the sea that lets coastal states regulate ice-covered waters. The United States holds that the straits along the way are international and open to all. Canada makes the Russian argument about its own Northwest Passage, and America rejects that too.

Who depends on whom. Any shipper using the route relies on Russia's goodwill, icebreakers and rescue. For China that is acceptable. For Western governments it is the problem.

Whether it should be used at all. Ships bring soot that darkens the ice, noise, and the risk of a spill that cannot be cleaned up in ice and darkness.

How each side explains it

The account of Moscow and Beijing

The northern route lies along Russia's coast, was opened by Russian sailors and is kept open by Russian icebreakers, built at Russian expense. Regulating it is Russia's right under the law of the sea and its duty for safety. The route is shorter, cheaper and free of the straits and canals that wars and navies close. China, Korea, India and others use it because it makes commercial sense. Those who call ordinary cargo ships a strategic threat are the ones who have turned every other sea lane into a lever.

In our coverage

Arctic resource development and shipping are normal opportunity →26 headlines
Covered by:RT · TASS (EN) · Global Times · China Daily · Bloomberg · CGTN

The account of Washington and its allies

A route run by Moscow, with Chinese ships as its main customers, gives two adversaries a protected corridor outside the reach of any Western navy and a toll gate on a future artery of world trade. Russian rules on foreign warships go beyond what the law allows. Chinese ships that carry containers one year can carry other things the next, and the ports, cables and satellites that serve them serve navies too. The West must build icebreakers, watch the route and keep its allies' shippers from becoming dependent on it.

What each account leaves out

Moscow's and Beijing's leaves out that the route carries a fraction of what Russia promised, less than half its own target for 2024, and almost all of it Russian oil and gas going out, not transit trade; and that China's state companies have been careful to stay clear of Russia's sanctioned Arctic projects.

Washington's and its allies' leaves out that America makes the same legal objection to its ally Canada; that its partners South Korea, India and Japan are testing the route for the same reasons China uses it; and that the West has almost no icebreakers because it took no interest for thirty years.

The environmental groups' and shipping lines' leaves out that a shorter voyage burns less fuel, and that the pledges were made when the alternatives were safe.

The ledger

Russia

Wanted: a national artery that pays for the development of its north.
Gained: Asian customers and a first regular container line.
Paid: far less traffic than planned, and a dependence on Chinese demand for the route as for much else.

China

Wanted: a way to Europe no navy can close.
Gained: a working one, in season.

The United States and its allies

Wanted: the route open to all or used by few.
Gained: neither.
Paid

Words in dispute

Names and terms the sides do not share. This page keeps them out of its own voice.

Northern Sea Route / Northeast Passage
internal waters / international strait
polar silk road
freedom of navigation
black carbon
transit / destination shipping

Events per week

Per-week distribution of events. Click a bar to see that week's top events.

Click a week bar to select. Light blue = active week.

Week of Sep 28, 2026(1)

Putin: Russia and China can use Northern Sea Route in mutual interests

1 sourcesOct 1, 2026