business
Russia’s Northern Sea Route Cargo to Surpass 40m Tonnes As China, South Korea Dispatch Containerships
Despite Western sanctions cargo traffic on Russia’s Northern Sea Route is heading for a record in 2026, while growing Chinese and Korean container activity is beginning to reshape the Arctic corridor. The developments point to a gradual shift from a route focused mainly on Russian resource exports and destinations toward a seasonal transit corridor linking Asian and European markets.
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Cargo volumes on Russia’s Northern Sea Route are on track to set a new record this year as growing China-Russia trade coincides with a notable expansion in container shipping along the Arctic corridor, raising the prospect of the route evolving beyond its traditional role as an export artery for Russian commodities.
Cargo tonnage on the route was 15% higher in the first half of 2026 than in the same period last year, Russia’s state-owned nuclear shipping company Atomflot said. It expects total cargo volumes to exceed 40 million metric tons for the first time this year, representing an increase of about 10% from 2025.
The growth is being supported in part by expanding trade between Russia and China. Bilateral cargo traffic along the Northern Sea Route exceeded 5 million tons in the first six months of 2026, according to Atomflot.
Moscow and Beijing have set a target of reaching 20 million tons of bilateral cargo traffic along the route by 2030, highlighting the growing importance of the Arctic passage to trade between the two countries.
Western sanctions have repeatedly target Russian oil and gas projects in the region as well as Moscow's shipbuilding capacity. While some projects have been on hold or downscaled as a result, Russian operation along the route continue to expand.
A profit of $94 million
Russia’s Sovcomflot is among the companies benefiting from the increase in Arctic activity. The state-controlled tanker operator reported a sharp improvement in financial results during the first quarter of 2026, with revenue rising 60% to $444 million.
The company recorded a profit of $94 million, compared with a $393 million loss in the same period a year earlier.
Sovcomflot’s Arctic operations include ice-class LNG tankers serving the Yamal LNG project, shuttle transportation of crude oil, floating oil storage and port services, as well as the management of oil terminals and tugboats.
No stops in Russia
The rise in overall traffic comes as Chinese companies are also increasing their presence on the route, with container shipping potentially marking a more significant long-term development.
Most notably, Chinese operator Sea Legend plans to introduce what it describes as a weekly liner-type service along the Northern Sea Route, with eight scheduled departures connecting Ningbo in China with Felixstowe in Britain and onward destinations including Rotterdam, Hamburg and Gdansk.
The move represents the most significant development in Arctic container shipping since Maersk’s trial voyage through the route in 2018, according to Arctic shipping experts.
The vessels Sea Legend plans to deploy are small to medium-sized container ships compared with the largest ships operating on conventional global liner routes.
But the introduction of a seasonal, scheduled service is significant because it moves Arctic container shipping closer to a regular commercial operation rather than occasional trial voyages.
Sea Legend’s plans follow the company’s Istanbul Bridge, which completed a record Northern Sea Route transit in just 20 days in the fall of 2025.
The company’s proposed service is also notable because it would bypass Russian ports entirely. Earlier Chinese container operations, including those conducted by NewNew Shipping Line, primarily connected Chinese ports with destinations in Russia.
Important for the future development of the route
Sea Legend is instead positioning the Northern Sea Route as a transit corridor between Asia and Western Europe, rather than primarily as a means of serving the Russian market.
That distinction could prove important for the future development of the route. Russia has long promoted the Northern Sea Route as an alternative link between Europe and Asia, but most commercial traffic has remained closely tied to Russian energy, mining and other resource exports.
China vs South Korea
A sustained container service that does not depend on Russian cargo or ports would provide a different test of the route’s commercial viability.
A Korean operator, Panstar, is due to send a container ship along the same route later this week, marking the first time container operators from two different countries will be active on the Northern Sea Route simultaneously.
The developments come as Russia seeks to expand year-round and seasonal traffic along the route while China increasingly views the Arctic passage as another potential option for trade with Europe.
For now, the Northern Sea Route remains heavily dependent on Russian natural resources and state-supported infrastructure, including the country’s fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers.
But the combination of record cargo volumes, rising China-Russia trade and the emergence of scheduled international container services suggests the character of Arctic shipping may be beginning to change.
