Parliament passes Bills of Lading Bill 2025 aims to simplify legal framework for shipping documents

 

Parliament passes Bills of Lading Bill 2025 aims to simplify legal framework for shipping documents

In a landmark development for India’s maritime sector, Parliament on Monday passed the Bills of Lading, 2025, replacing the 169-year-old colonial-era Indian Bills of Lading Act, 1856. The Rajya Sabha cleared the bill on the first day of the Monsoon Session, following its earlier passage in the Lok Sabha in March 2025. The bill now awaits Presidential assent before becoming law.

Tabled by Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, the bill marks a significant step in India’s efforts to overhaul outdated legal frameworks and align them with contemporary global standards. Once enacted, the legislation will simplify maritime shipping documentation in India, making it more transparent, efficient, and in tune with international trade practices.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Minister Sonowal emphasized that the reform is part of the government’s broader mission to build a “Viksit Bharat” by 2047, as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “This vision is not merely aspirational; it is a call to action, urging us to align our efforts and aspirations with the promise of a new and prosperous Bharat,” he said.

The Bills of Lading, 2025 introduces modern, business-friendly terminology and streamlines the rights and obligations of carriers, shippers, and lawful holders. It aims to reduce ambiguity in shipping documentation, minimize litigation risks, and strengthen India’s position in global trade by adopting internationally recognized norms.

The new legislation also features simplified legal language and restructures complex provisions. It includes an enabling clause empowering the Central Government to issue directives for effective implementation. A standard repeal and saving clause ensures that all past actions under the old Act remain valid, maintaining legal continuity.

Minister Sonowal described the passage of the bill as a decisive move away from colonial legacies and toward a legal system that reflects India’s constitutional values and current economic aspirations. “As we reflect on the 76th year since the adoption of the Indian Constitution, it is the perfect moment to cast aside the remnants of colonial and pre-constitutional legacies that hinder our progress,” he said.

 

 

Grimaldi Names First of 10 Giant, Ammonia-Ready Car Carriers 

Grimaldi Shanghai is the first to receive RINA's ammonia-ready notation among other technological features (Grimaldi)

Published Jul 22, 2025 7:19 PM by The Maritime Executive

Grimaldi Group is marking a major expansion of its car carrier operations along with the launch of what the company is calling “a true technological gem.” During a naming ceremony on July 21 at China Merchants Heavy Industry’s shipyard in Jiangsu, the company highlighted the technological features of the innovative vessel, which was designed in partnership with the naval architecture firm Knud E. Hansen.

The new Grande Shanghai is the first of ten next-generation PCTC (Pure Car & Truck Carrier) vessels the company has on order from China Merchants. The first five will have a capacity of 9,000 units, and the second five will be increased to have a capacity of 9,800 units, making them among the largest vehicle carriers currently in service. (Wallenius Wilhelmsen has vessels on order in China that, when delivered, will have a capacity of 11,500 units.) 

The new ships are a large expansion for Grimaldi, with nearly 20 percent more capacity than its largest car carriers, the Grande Torino class (7,700 CEU). Grimaldi operates nine smaller PCTCs as well as seven of the Grande Torino class. The company has a total fleet of 1530 vessels ranging from Conros to Ro/Pax, Ro/Ro, and ferries.

In addition to being the group’s first vessels to receive the “ammonia-ready” notation from RINA, the new vehicle carriers incorporate other new technologies. Grimaldi reports they are the first PCTC vessels to be fitted with a gate rudder, which features two foil blades positioned on either side of the propeller to improve propulsion efficiency and maneuverability.

“The Grande Shanghai stands out as a true technological gem, combining high cargo capacity and environmental sustainability. Compared to the previous car carrier generation, she reduces fuel consumption per cargo unit transported by 50 percent,” says Grimaldi. 

The ship is 93,145 gross tons with a length of 220 meters (721 feet). She will operate at a speed of 18 knots. She has 14 decks for vehicle transport and is designed to carry both electric and traditional fuel vehicles.

Among the other technologies incorporated into the design are mega lithium batteries with a total power of 5 MWh, 2,500 square meters of solar panels, and cold ironing capabilities to use with shoreside electricity where available. It also has energy optimization systems, silicon-based hull coatings to reduce drag, Air Lubrication for the hull, and an optimized hull design. It is fitted with smart ventilation and air conditioning controls, an electronically controlled engine with exhaust gas cleaning, and a selective catalytic reduction system.

The company points to the vessel as the first of a new generation of more sustainable transports that are innovative and efficient.

 

 

Wind-Assisted Propulsion Expands to LR2s with Landmark Dual-Fuel Order

nion Maritime's new tankers will be the first dual-fuel LR2 with wind-assisted propuslion (Bar Technologies)

Published Jul 22, 2025 7:47 PM by The Maritime Executive

In what is believed to be the first application of wind-assisted propulsion combined with a dual-fuel tanker, the UK’s Bar Technologies reports it has confirmed what it calls a landmark order for its WindWing technology to be installed on two new LR2 dual-fuel tankers to be built in China. It follows the recent first installation of its technology on a conventional newbuild LR2 tanker, and the company says it further demonstrates the move of wind-assisted propulsion into the mainstream.

“Fitting WindWings to tankers of this type breaks new ground for wind propulsion,” says John Cooper, CEO of BAR Technologies. “It proves the technology can scale and slot alongside dual-fuel systems as a serious, practical tool for decarbonizing even the most energy-intensive vessel types. Wind is no longer an experiment or a future option; it’s a proven fuel source that’s ready to deliver real impact today.” 

Flagged under the Marshall Islands and classed by Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore, the vessels to be named Suzuka and Long Beach for Union Maritime (UML) will each be equipped with two 37.5-meter (123-foot) WindWings. The vessels, which will be 250-meter (820-foot) long tankers, are being designed by China’s SDARI and constructed by Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry (XSI). Steel cutting is scheduled for November 2025, with delivery in Q1 2027.

The two 37.5-meter WindWings units the company projects will deliver an average of three tonnes of daily fuel savings, translating to annual CO? reductions of around 2300 tonnes per tanker.

The company also says that this LR2 deployment is particularly significant as this class of tankers is widely used for transporting refined petroleum and chemicals globally. Integrating wind propulsion into such a high-utilisation vessel class, Bar Tech believes signals a step change, moving WindWings and wind-assisted propulsion from innovation to infrastructure.

Union Maritime took delivery in June of the new Brands Hatch, a 114,000 dwt Aframax tanker was the first to be fitted with wind-assisted propulsion. Bar Technologies reports that the vessel's early performance exceeds expectations.

These newbuilds are expected to enter service ahead of the IMO’s 2030 emissions reduction targets, offering early compliance benefits and long-term operational efficiencies.

 

 

RV Nautilus Finds Ship's Bell of Lost WWII Destroyer USS De Haven 

he privately-run research vessel Nautilus has found the ship's bell of the lost frigate USS De Haven, the latest in a series of discoveries in a survey of "Iron Bottom Sound," a channel in the Solomon Islands that saw heavy combat during World War II. 

USS De Haven (DD-469, often spelled DeHaven) was a Fletcher-class destroyer, a successful vessel design that was built by the dozen during the war. Commissioned in September 1942, De Haven immediately departed for the Solomon Islands campaign, which was already in full swing. She escorted a convoy of troopships to Guadalcanal, then patrolled the archipelago to interdict Japanese forces for the next several months. The famous and costly naval engagements off Guadalcanal and Savo Island were long over by that point, but Japanese air forces still posed a serious threat.

On February 1, 1943, De Haven was escorting a small group of landing craft and a seaplane tender to a new beachhead on Guadalcanal. As she returned to base with two of the landing craft, nine Japanese planes approached, and six turned to attack her. De Haven was hit by three bombs, killing the commanding officer and sending the ship to the bottom just off Savo Island. 167 crewmembers lost their lives in the sinking. 

De Haven's wreck was discovered by Dr. Robert Ballard in 1992, and the RV Nautilus returned to the site in July to re-survey the vessel. With assistance from live-stream video viewers, the team found the ship's bell, one of the most iconic elements of any shipwreck. The bell was dislodged from its mount and was resting atop a torpedo mount amidships. Signs of deterioration and marine life colonization suggest that the timing of the find was lucky: some areas of the wreck have become heavily encrusted, and one of the other torpedo mounts has tilted due to deck collapse since the last survey

The team also conducted the first ever wreck exploration of USS Walke, a Sims-class destroyer that went down off Savo Island during the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (Nov. 15, 1942). Walke fired off about 300 five-inch rounds at three Japanese warships in the pitched nighttime battle; she was hit by a torpedo in return, then by multiple rounds of shells. As she went down, her depth charges detonated, killing survivors in the water. The ROV exploration shows the ferocity of the fight: the bridge had been blown off and was found separately, and only about half of the length of the hull could be identified as a single structure. Both the bow and stern were missing. 

 

 

Spin-Offs From the Suction Sail 

The suction sail is an innovative design that uses a small amount of energy to redirect a large flow of crosswind to assist ship propulsion, reducing the amount of thrust required from ship propellers. Spin-offs from the suction sail concept can be applied to other maritime transportation applications.

Introduction

The concept of the suction sail begins with conventional boat sails that converts the kinetic energy of crosswinds to vessel propulsion, applying Newton’s law of motion that there is a kinetic reaction for every kinetic action. Designers of early sails, kite makers and builders of early airplane wings focused on the interaction between wind on the upwind side of the sail, not the shadow side. The early aviation sector discovered the important role of the upper shadow side of a wing sustaining ‘lift’ as compared to the wing underside.

Developers of yachts experimented with adapting an aeronautical wing or airfoil sail to vessel propulsion, by redirecting crosswind kinetic energy. Airfoil construction and ‘angle-of-attack’ in relation to crosswind direction made greater use of the shadow side of the airfoil to provide propulsive force, as long as air flowed over the shadow side as water flows down the side of a tilted mug of water. Airfoil design produced a low-pressure zone near the forward edge, diverting a large amount of crosswind rearward around the airfoil shadow side to produce greater propulsive force.

Suction Sail

The suction sail is a deck-mounted airfoil with an extractor fan installed at the upper end, to pull air in through slits in the airfoil to develop a low-pressure zone across the airfoil shadow side. That modification greatly increases the amount of crosswind that is diverted rearward around the shadow side of the airfoil, greatly increasing propulsive force by several orders of magnitude. The concept has potential to be adapted to other areas of maritime propulsion, including below the waterline involving hydrofoils and even Flettner Rotors.

Suction Hydrofoils

The ability of suction sail technology to greatly increase the equivalent of ‘lift’ along the shadow side of an airfoil-sail provides the basis to adapt the concept to operate underwater, in the form of suction hydrofoils. When operating submerged, a small propeller would pull a small volume flow rate of water through narrow slit-type inlets built into the hydrofoil upper surface. Water would flow through the interior of the hydrofoil and out through an outlet installed below the hydrofoil or at its far end, potentially increasing the low-speed ‘lift’ of the hydrofoil.

Using suction technology to increase ‘lift’ along the top surface of a hydrofoil increases potential to raise a vessel hull above water at lower sailing speed, also increasing the amount of weight that a vessel could carry on its hydrofoils. Raising the vessel hull at lower speed reduces drag when sailing through severely choppy water, allowing the vessel to sail at low-speed over extended distances with hull above water. While most hydrofoil vessels are designed to sail at speed, there might actually be a market for low-speed hydrofoil vessels capable of sailing smoothly through choppy water.

Suction Rotor

The success of suction sail technology during real world operation provides a basis to combine it with a competing technology, the vertical-axis spinning cylindrical Flettner Rotor. A hollow rotor with inlet slits and an extraction fan installed at its upper end offers the concept of a suction rotor. Reversible blades would allow the rotor and extraction fan to spin in either clockwise of counter-clockwise directions while pulling air through the rotor. A planetary overdrive gear would spin the extractor fan at extreme rotational speeds, sustaining a low-pressure zone inside the cylinder while diverting air inward through the inlets.

The moving boundary layer of a conventional spinning Flettner rotor develops low-pressure zone in the crosswind shadow, diverting crosswind energy toward the low-pressure zone and changing its direction to produce propulsive thrust. Air flowing into the inlets at sonic speed would restrict air mass flow rate involving wind blowing directly at the inlets, allowing air to flow into inlets on the downwind shadow side. A rotary valve that momentarily closes inlets on the upwind side while keeping shadow side inlets operational, would theoretically divert a greater volume of crosswind kinetic energy rearward, producing greater propulsive force.

Conclusions

The suction sail is the ultimate development of airfoil-sail technology, to develop propulsive force from crosswind kinetic energy. In wind-assisted ship propulsion, it outperforms all previous airfoil-sail designs. It is a proven concept based on a flow dynamic that has potential application below water, in hydrofoils intended to raise a vessel hull above water at low sailing speed and carry greater weight at higher sailing speed. There is also scope to adapt suction sail air flow dynamic to a competing wind-assisted ship propulsion technology, the vertical-axis spinning rotor.

In both suction sail application and potentially with spinning rotor application, the air flow dynamic offers the ability to divert a greater proportion of crosswind kinetic energy to vessel propulsion, using a small input of energy. The concept can achieve the same result as an extremely tall wind technology using less height and a lower center of gravity. Adapting suction rotor dynamics to a cylindrical rotor spinning on a vertical axis will need to be the focus of future research, to develop greater propulsive thrust from a greater proportion of crosswind kinetic energy.

 

 

CMA CGM in JV with TotalEnergies to Offer LNG Bunkering from Rotterdam

CMA CGM is making a unique move, announcing it is forming a joint venture with TotalEnergies to launch an LNG bunkering and logistics operation based in Rotterdam. It is the first time a shipping company is partnering with an energy provider for LNG bunkering and a key step to support the French carriers’ growing fleet of LNG-fueled vessels.

The companies report they will position a new 20,000 cbm LNG bunker vessel in Rotterdam by the end of 2028. The new company, which will be jointly operated, will offer a complete logistics service, from reload access at the Gate terminal facility to LNG bunker deliveries. They will service a wide range of vessels operating in the Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Antwerp region.

As part of the agreement, CMA CGM will be supplied with up to 360,000 tons of LNG per year starting in 2028 until 2040. CMA CGM and TotalEnergies have been working together for the past eight years since the first deal was signed to supply CMA CGM with 300,000 tons of LNG annually in Rotterdam. The companies also have a supply agreement for Marseille Fos in the south of France. The first LNG bunkering took place in 2020 in Rotterdam for CMA CGM and has expanded to fueling in Dunkirk and the Port of Marseille Fos.

CMA CGM has been a pioneer in the use of LNG, including the launch of its first large LNG-fueled vessel, CMA CGM Jacques Saadé (23,000 TEU) in 2020. The company reports that by 2029, it will have 123 vessels that are dual-fuel and operate on low-carbon fuels. It has also recently taken delivery of its first dual-fuel methanol vessels.

“We are proud to further contribute, alongside a partner like CMA CGM, to the development of an LNG bunkering supply chain in one of Europe’s leading port hubs. LNG is today the most mature and immediately available solution to reduce the environmental footprint of maritime transport. This strategic partnership not only strengthens our position as a major player in LNG bunkering but also illustrates the shared commitment of two leading French companies to actively support the energy transition,” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies.

The French companies said they are working together to accelerate the energy transition in the maritime sector. TotalEnergies reports it is the world's third-largest LNG player with a global portfolio of 40 MT per year in 2024.

One of the challenges remains the infrastructure to support the fuel transition. Companies have been working to increase the number of bunker vessels and expand the locations where alternative fuels are available. Other carriers such as Maersk have invested in the production capacity for alternative fuels, but CMA CGM is the first large carrier to expand into LNG bunkering operations.

Rotterdam boasts that it was the first port in Europe to establish LNG bunkering. The first ship-to-ship transfer took place in 2018, and by 2020, the service was fully available. The Gate terminal, a joint venture of Gasunie and Vopak, is the LNG import terminal in Rotterdam. Located on the Maasvlakte near the port entrance, the LNG terminal has three storage tanks, each with a storage capacity of 180,000 m3, making it possible to unload large amounts of LNG at once

 

 

Livestock Carrier Detained and Released After Sailing Near Yemen 

A small livestock carrier was confronted and briefly detained as it was sailing near the Yemeni coast on July 24. The situation remains unclear, but security services are speculating it might have been intercepted by locals because of the position of the vessel instead of an attack by the Houthis.

The vessel named Merinos Livestock (2,200 dwt) departed Bossaso, Somalia, and indicated it was bound for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, before turning off its AIS transmissions. The lack of an AIS signal may have contributed to the intercept, with some reports saying it took place with the Yemeni Coast Guard. The Houthis have not taken credit for the intercept, although they often take hours or days to acknowledge their activities.

The vessel was reportedly underway east of the Hanish Islands, approximately 30 nautical miles northwest of Mocha, Yemen. A single wooden boat confronted the livestock carrier, and the reports indicate there was small arms fire. The vessel was ordered to turn to the Yemeni port, and tracking signals show it made a U-turn bound for Mocha. The last report to the UK Maritime Trade Operation was that the vessel was being detained by the Yemeni Coast Guard.

Reuters reports the vessel was held on “suspicion.” The report says the vessel was later released.

Tracking on the Merinos Livestock (posted on X)

 

The Merinos Livestock is a converted cargo ship built in 1976 and now operating under the Comoros flag, managed by a Greek company. It would be a relatively easy target, with reports that it has a top speed of just 10 knots. It is 88 meters (289 feet) in length.

Details on the ship are shadowy, with the Equasis database not reflecting a port state inspection since 2023, shortly after it was renamed Merinos Livestock. Between 2016 and 2023, the vessel underwent 14 port state inspections, each of which listed deficiencies and, in several cases, resulted in detentions.
 

 

 

 

CMA CGM Reflags Ship to Become Largest U.S.-Flagged Containership 

CMA CGM is moving forward with its commitment to triple the size of its U.S.-flagged fleet as part of a $20 billion investment into its U.S. ship and logistics operations. Today, July 24, the company officially reflagged the first of four vessels it plans to move into the U.S. registry.

The CMA CGM Phoenix (115,000 dwt – 9,326 TEU) hoisted the U.S. flag in Charleston, South Carolina, in a ceremony to mark the completion of its transfer from Singapore to the U.S. registry. Built in 2013 by South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, the vessel had previously operated as the APL Phoenix. A Neo-Panamax containership measuring 1,079 feet (328 meters) in length, the company and the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) are reporting that it has become the largest container vessel ever to sail under the U.S. flag.

“Adding the CMA CGM Phoenix into the U.S.-flagged fleet is a powerful move toward reclaiming America’s maritime strength,” said Acting Administrator of the Maritime Administration Sang Yi. “This is about more than ships; it’s also about jobs, trade, and economic strength and national security for Americans.”  

CMA CGM reports the vessel employs 42 American mariners, with 21 onboard at any given time, and members of two U.S. maritime unions. The ship is being deployed on the company’s service connecting the U.S. East Coast with Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka.

According to the company, the CMA CGM Phoenix will be followed by three other vessels, each with a capacity of 9,300 TEU. When the transfers are completed, the company will have increased by 50 percent the number of American seafarers it employs. In addition, it highlights that the CMA CGM Phoenix will serve as a training platform for future officers. Two cadets will be aboard each voyage from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point and the state maritime academies. 

Chairman and CEO of CMA CGM Group Rodolphe Saadé met with President Donald Trump in March, announcing the company’s plans to expand its role in the U.S. shipping industry. He committed the company to growing its U.S.-flagged fleet to 30 ships over the next four years. MARAD reports the CMA CGM Phoenix is the 11th U.S. flagged vessel in CMA CGM service. 

CMA CGM also owns APL (the former American President Lines), which it acquired in the 2016 acquisition of Neptune Orient Lines. APL is a niche brand today servicing the United States Government, providing its U.S. flag service, and its service to the Guam-Pacific trade. The company also plans to invest in growing its terminal operations and air freight base in the United States.

MARAD said the reflagging advances President Trump’s Executive Order of Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance. It reports, the current U.S.-flagged fleet consists of 189 vessels, including tankers, containerships, dry bulk carriers, vehicle carriers, and more. The order mirrors a bipartisan initiative in Congress that calls for the rebuilding of the American merchant marine.

 

 

Puntland Refuses Somalia and Turkey’s Demands to Release Weaponry on Ship 

The standoff continues between the government of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland and the federal government of Somalia over a cargo ship loaded with Turkish weaponry that is being detained. The government of Puntland insists it is investigating the true ownership of the military hardware on the vessel, rejecting the calls by both the federal government of Somalia and Turkey to release the vessel and its cargo.

The federal government in Mogadishu issued its first public statement on the incident on Wednesday, July 23, five days after the vessel was seized, saying it “categorically denounces the hijacking and aggression against the Sea World vessel.” It said it was demanding the “immediate and unconditional release of the vessel,” while calling the actions of Puntland an “unlawful operation.”

Puntland contends the Sea World (13,000 dwt registered in Comoros) was “loitering for two days” off the coast, raising suspicions. Built in 1977, the vessel has a shadowy past, and Equasis lists both its owners and managers as unknown. Puntland reports it “apprehended” the vessel on July 18, acting on intelligence and fears after a group of young fishermen had already boarded the vessel. Puntland says it took control of the vessel, and after being contacted by Somali traders who claimed ownership of the cargo, it moved the ship to port for an investigation.

 

 

 

Russia's Only Aircraft Carrier to Be Scrapped or Sold

Russia's only aircraft carrier, the 40-year-old Admiral Kuznetsov, is likely to be sold or scrapped, the chairman of Russia's state shipbuilding corporation told the Kommersant newspaper in comments published on Friday.

Andrei Kostin's remarks follow a report in the daily Izvestia newspaper earlier this month, which cited unnamed sources as saying long-running refit and maintenance work on the warship had been suspended.

Launched in 1985 when the Soviet Union still existed, the Admiral Kuznetsov saw action in Russia's military campaign in Syria in support of then-President Bashar al-Assad, with its planes carrying out airstrikes against rebel forces.

But it has played no role in the war in Ukraine and has been out of service since 2017, undergoing modernisation in the Murmansk area close to where Russia's Northern Fleet is based.

Efforts to overhaul it have suffered repeated accidents and setbacks.

Asked about its fate on Thursday on the sidelines of a flag-raising ceremony for a new nuclear submarine in northwestern Russia, Kostin made it clear that a final decision had not yet been taken, but suggested that the Admiral Kuznetsov was no longer worth spending money on.

"We believe there is no point in repairing it anymore. It is over 40-years old, and it is extremely expensive ... I think the issue will be resolved in such a way that it will either be sold or disposed of," Kostin was quoted as saying by Kommersant.

Detailed information about the combat readiness of individual warships is regarded as sensitive by Moscow and the Russian Defence Ministry does not comment on such matters.

Russian naval veterans and experts are divided on the prospect of the warship being scrapped, with some telling Izvestia it is obsolete, and others saying it or a successor would provide a capability that Russia needs.

The aircraft carrier gained notoriety in Britain when then-Secretary of Defence Michael Fallon dubbed it the "ship of shame" in 2017 when it passed close to the English coast on its way back from the Mediterranean belching black smoke.

Chinese Carrier With Red Sea History Now Plans a Russian Arctic Route

 

An LNG carrier transits the NSR in the warm months (Rosatomflot file image)

Published Jul 24, 2025 11:19 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

A Chinese niche carrier that popped up in the Mideast market last year has reportedly added a container service from China to Europe via the Northern Sea Route - the Russian-controlled waterway north of Siberia. 

Sea Legend Shipping is a Chinese-controlled, Singapore-based line that emerged during the most intense phase of the Houthi blockade of the Red Sea. With escort support from China's PLA Navy, Sea Legend provided a rare container-shipping option for cargo from the Far East to regional ports in and around the Red Sea. The company advertised its hardening measures, including security guards, razor wire and steel shutters, and it emphasized that it operated Chinese-flagged ships. (The Houthis have pledged not to attack vessels linked to Russia or China.) An executive with the firm told Chinese media that as of January 2024, it was the only liner company operating weekly services to Red Sea regional ports. 

The Houthi blockade remains a serious problem, but Sea Legend is now ready to strike out on another bold venture: a service through the icy Northern Sea Route (NSR). Beginning this September, Sea Legend will start a new Arctic route that directly connects China with Northern Europe, delivering cargo from east to west in just 18 days. The current standard via the Cape of Good Hope route is about 30-50 days, according to Freightos, meaning that Sea Legend's route could realistically cut delivery times in half. For shippers, this is Sea Legend's main business proposition: faster  shipping times mean a faster and more responsive supply chain, making it easier to hit delivery deadlines, cut inventory costs and change product lineups. High-value, high-tech cargoes are high on the list of target markets, the company said. 

The time window for an NSR route is narrow; though Arctic warming has increased the amount of ice-free transit time each season, the route's suitability for general commercial use is seasonally limited, at least for now. The company plans only one voyage this year, according to Chinese outlet eWorldShip, and it has apparently booked up quickly. 

The Northern Sea Route's commercial development is a top priority for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has assigned responsibility for its expansion to state nuclear agency Rosatomflot (operator of Russia's nuclear-powered icebreakers). Sino-Russian cooperation is a major driver of economic development on the route, both for shipping and for resource extraction. Chinese firms are key backers for the region's biggest projects, like Arctic LNG 2, the sanctioned liquefaction terminal on the Gulf of Ob.