Beijing will send a 965ft container ship to the UK this week, establishing the first direct sailing route from China to western Europe via the Arctic.
The inaugural journey via the North Sea Route (NSR) is set to halve the usual 40-day commercial voyage between the two locations, revolutionising East-West trade routes.
The Istanbul Bridge, a Chinese-owned container ship, will on Wednesday set sail from Ningbo-Zhoushan port, the world's largest, to Felixstowe, east Suffolk - and is expected to take only 18 days to reach its destination.
Goods from China have long travelled to Europe around the Cape of Good Hope, but the loss of Arctic sea ice driven by global warming has made the NSR increasingly accessible.
Icebreakers will be used to clear the path of the test-voyage in the hopes of establishing a regular route via Russia’s Northern Sea Route, linking several ports in Asia and Europe.
