On Monday, The Istanbul Bridge set out on a Northern Sea Route cruise from a PRC port to Felixstowe, UK, the Government of the city of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, reports.

It is noted that the new Arctic route “is rendering Chinese businesses powerful support in the matter of overcoming uncertainty in world trade and exploring new international logistical channels.” It takes about 18 days to reach Europe from China via the Northern Sea Route, or 22 days less than  via usual routes with an added advantage of a 50-percent cut in carbon emissions.

Previously, the fastest route from Ningbo to Europe was believed to be that to Wilhelmshaven in Germany, a cruise that took 26 days.