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Chinese Carrier May Invest up to $2.5B in Russia's Port of Arkhangelsk

Eurosib port
Courtesy Eurosib

Published Jul 28, 2025 1:45 PM by The Maritime Executive


China's NewNew Shipping Line has agreed to pay billions of dollars to support the construction of new port facilities at Arkhangelsk, a key seaport at the western end of the Northern Sea Route, the Russian-administered waterway off Siberia's Arctic coast.  

Located near the mouth of the Dvina River on the White Sea, Arkhangelsk is just south of the Arctic Circle and is icebound in winter. In the navigation season, it is a gateway to consumers and industries in western Russia: though the city is itself remote, it is still the NSR's closest deep-sea port to Moscow and St. Petersburg, and the Severnaya Railway connects it with the rest of Russia's rail network. 

Last month, regional governor Alexander Tsybulsky told Russian outlet PortNews that planning is under way for a major expansion of Arkhangelsk's seaport. The new terminal will be able to welcome merchant ships with a draft of up to about 48 feet and capacity of 75,000 dwt. The objective is to triple the port's modest throughput by 2040. "Here we work closely with our partners - the state corporation Rosatom, the company Eurosib," he said. "The main investors have been identified, there is interest from foreign companies. In particular, we are actively working with the Chinese NewNew Shipping Line."

Last weekend, in a readout of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Tsybulsky elaborated that NewNew is ready to take a 30 percent stake in the port with an investment of up to $2.5 billion - far more than the value of NewNew's fleet.

"We are currently working on technical issues with them, but if you agree, we are ready to continue this work and sign a memorandum with them on the main directions that we would be ready to use in this port," Tsybulsky told Putin. 

NewNew Shipping Line started a container route along the NSR in 2023, and it added a round trip service from Shanghai/Ningbo to Arkhangelsk in 2024. Last year's 13 voyages were profitable, and the firm plans to use larger ships in this year's rotation. 

In the long term, NewNew is planning a series of Arc7 ice class container ships in cooperation with Russian state nuclear agency Rosatom, operator of Russia's nuclear icebreakers and the managing agency for Northern Sea Route development. The Panamax-sized vessels would be capable of an extended navigation season in the ice-choked eastern stretch of the NSR - just like the Arc7-class icebreaking LNG carriers that serve Novatek's Yamal LNG plant. An expanded deepwater container terminal at Arkhangelsk would reduce these ships' transit times to western Russia by a week (when compared to a voyage to St. Petersburg). 

Year-round NSR navigation between Russia and China is a top priority for Putin's administration, in part for supply chain security and in part for the economic benefits of an active trade lane for other projects along Russia's remote northern shore.