Mariners have known about short cuts to the Pacific via the Arctic for a long time. The Northern Sea Route (NSR), north of Siberia, was discovered 300 years ago, and the Northwest Passage (NWP) has been on the map for more than a century. Although these routes are much shorter than the traditional trading routes from…

Following on from our article concerning Chinas expansion into the Arctic, this week there has been a first for shipping, as the first commercial tanker crosses the Arctic sea route in winter.   Thawing polar ice in the region of Russia’s Northern Coastline means that this could be a viable option of increasing maritime trade…

Following on from their Silk Road direct link, China are now looking to capitalise on a Polar version. The first silk road train from China to Britain arrived in February of last year - (see our news post at that time for more information) China now plans to create a Polar Silk Road of new…