Dubai Tower sails home via Suez after Sea Legend's first Arctic run of 2026
The 1,740 TEU ship went west through the Northeast Passage and returns east through the Suez Canal, a planned loop around Eurasia
Sea Legend Shipping's Liberia-flagged containership Dubai Tower, 1,740 TEU, transited the Suez Canal southbound on 5 October on her way back to Asia. She had just completed the European leg of the Singapore carrier's first Arctic sailing of the 2026 season.
The Suez return was not a late diversion away from the Arctic. Sea Legend had set out a rotation that combines a westbound voyage from China to Europe through the Northeast Passage with an eastbound return through the Suez Canal and North Africa.
What route did Dubai Tower take?
Dubai Tower left Ningbo on 15 August, called at Shanghai, Taicang and Qingdao, and left Chinese waters on 19 August. She reached Teesport in northeast England on 9 September, then called at Felixstowe, Hamburg and Gdynia. She later returned to Felixstowe and called at Djen Djen in Algeria before heading for Suez.
She carried 1,370 TEU westbound, including energy storage units, power batteries and photovoltaic equipment. Changing ice conditions forced route adjustments during the Arctic crossing, with drifting ice causing detours, speed reductions and deviations from schedule. After the ship's call at Gdynia on 18 September, her master, Captain Zhong Desheng, said she would return through Suez once her European programme was complete, taking her around the Eurasian landmass.
How much time does the Arctic route save?
Sea Legend chief operating officer Li Xiaobin said the leg from Ningbo to Teesport took about 20 days, against around 40 days on the traditional Suez routing. Natural ice conditions limit the China-Europe Arctic Express to a window of mainly July to October. Sea Legend and its partners planned at least eight voyages for the 2026 season with seven to eight ice-strengthened ships.
The return leg is not fixed. The second ship in the programme, Riyadh Mukaab, appeared to be making her return voyage through the Arctic, which shows the 2026 programme uses more than one routing pattern.
Sea Legend Shipping Pte Ltd was incorporated in Singapore on 2 February 2023 for freight shipping, ship chartering and shipping agency activities. Sea Legend Shipping (Hong Kong) Ltd is the operating entity for the China-Europe Arctic Express.
This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 9 October 2026.
