(With photo album) The first commercial Chinese ship to transit the Northern Sea Route, the Yong Sheng, has arrived in Rotterdam safely. SWZ Maritime editor Hugo Dill was invited to welcome the ship to the port and took pictures.
The Yong Sheng, the former Dina C, was built by Damen Shipyards Hindelopen. Chinese shipping company Cosco owns the vessel that started its 4500 km transit on 8 August in Dalian. The ship sailed across the Bering Sea, the East Siberian Sea, the Laptev Sea, Kara Sea and the Barents Sea to arrive in Rotterdam carrying crane parts for the APM Terminal on Maasvlakte 2.
Unreliable Shipping Route
Though it is not the first time a ship sails this route, it is the first time for a Chinese ship. The Port of Rotterdam Authority expects the number of ships to use this route in the coming ten years to be limited. For now, there is still too much ice making it an unreliable shipping route.
Pictures of Yong Sheng and Maasvlakte 2 Terminals
The photo album below contains pictures SWZ Maritime editor Hugo Dill took of the Yong Sheng arriving in Rotterdam. In addition, there are pictures of the cranes under construction at the RWG Terminal.
APMT and RWGT at Maasvlakte 2 are currently closed to visitors and could not be visited during the World Port Days. The pictures in the album show some of the progress made at these terminals.
