Rosatom and NewNew Advance Five Arc7 Boxships for Arctic Run
A 4,800 TEU design beamed to fit the channel that Russia's nuclear icebreakers cut
Rosatom and China's NewNew Shipping Line are advancing plans for five Arc7 ice-class container ships intended to make the Northern Sea Route a year-round commercial service. Vladimir Panov, Rosatom's special representative for Arctic development, told the plenary session of the 11th Eastern Economic Forum that the project has entered the advanced stages of research and development and described the planned vessels as potentially revolutionary for Arctic shipping.
The design comes from Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation. It measures 255 metres by 35 metres with a capacity above 4,800 TEU, which would make it the largest container ship drawn specifically for the route, and carries a 46 MW diesel-electric plant with two 15 MW propulsion motors turning fixed-pitch propellers. It is designed to break level first-year ice up to 1.7 metres thick.
The beam is the telling number. At 35 metres the hull is matched to the channel width cut by Russia's Project 22220 nuclear icebreakers, so the ships can work inside the existing escort system when conditions are too severe for independent navigation rather than waiting for a window.
The programme has slipped. The two parties formed a joint venture in China in late 2024 under the name Northern Sea Route Shipping Line, and as of June 2025 were still selecting a yard and weighing state support for up to five hulls, with the lead ship then targeted for delivery no later than 2027. Construction is now expected to start in 2027, and the ships remain at the research and development stage.
New New International Shipping is evaluating the commercial seaport of Murmansk as the primary home port for the fleet. On 20 August 2026 the operator's NewNew Hai 1 became the first Chinese container ship to reach that port via the Northern Sea Route, sailing from Tianjin with around 500 containers of Chinese-made vehicle parts and opening a regular service between Chinese coastal ports and Russia's largest Arctic deep-water port.
Murmansk, established in 1915, has 24 cargo yards and 15 berths and an annual throughput capacity of 24 million tonnes. It is the only comprehensive port in the Arctic that is navigable year-round with direct access to the open ocean.
This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 12 September 2026.
