China’s first merchant ship to head to Europe via the Arctic Northeast waterways kicked off its maiden voyage yesterday at northeast port, Dalian.

The ship “Yong Sheng”, is a multi-purpose vessel owned by COSCO Shipping and is scheduled to arrive at Rotterdam port on 11 September.

The Arctic routes would greatly shorten the shipping distance between China and Europe/North America, further reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions, improve the energy efficiency, and lower operational costs, COSCO said.