Arctic shipping routes an option amid Red Sea crisis

MSC’s container ships traveling through the Suez Canal toward the Red Sea. [Photo by EPA / Yonhap]

As the Red Sea crisis continues to disrupt traffic through the Suez Canal, the Arctic is emerging as an alternative shipping route between Asia and Europe.

According to the shipping industry and foreign media reports on Monday, Chinese shipping company NewNew Shipping Line Co. recently had its 1,220 TEU container ship Xin Xin Hai 1, which departed from a port near Shanghai early last month, enter the Arctic Ocean through the Bering Strait.

The Xin Xin Hai 1 is currently sailing with an icebreaker, and a similar ship, Xin Xin Hai 2, is also heading toward the Bering Strait.

Observers note that some shipping companies are venturing into the Arctic Route due to its advantage of reducing sailing time compared to the Red Sea route.

Before the outbreak of the Red Sea crisis, the round-trip route from Singapore to Europe via the Suez Canal took 90 days. After the crisis, however, bypassing the Cape of Good Hope instead of the Suez Canal increased the sailing period to up to 110 days. The Arctic route, on the other hand, is known to take about 70 days.

Global major shipping companies, in the meantime, have refrained from using the Arctic Route due to concerns about environmental pollution.

A.P. Moller - Maersk A/S, the world‘s second-largest shipping company, completed a trial voyage of the Arctic Route in 2018, but did not commence regular operations.

Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. (MSC), the world’s largest shipping company, also recently announced that it would not operate on the Arctic Route due to environmental issues and crew safety concerns.

Other top 5 carriers, including CMA-CGM and Hapag-Lloyd AG, are also keeping their distance from the Arctic Route. HMM Co., Korea’s largest container shipping line, is also reportedly not considering operating on the Arctic Route for similar reasons.

“The value of the Arctic Route will be more prominent if the Red Sea crisis continues for a long time due to its advantage of being able to shorten the route around the Cape of Good Hope,” said Kim In-hyeon, a professor at Korea University School of Law.