Boxship traffic along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) is set to break all records, with over 25 transits expected this year, compared with the 15 recorded in 2025 and the 11 in 2024.
Linerlytica points out that the real highlight of the year will be the maiden voyage of a South Korean vessel: Panstar Shipping will launch its Arctic service with its Panstar Acro (formerly HMM Mombasa), a 2,786 TEU vessel bought from HMM on 1st August 2026.
The ship is scheduled to depart from Busan on 22nd August 2026, with calls in Rotterdam, Hamburg and Gdańsk. The journey to Northern Europe will take around 19–20 days, ensuring significantly shorter sailing times compared with the lengthy routes around the Cape of Good Hope, which are currently the norm for most global carriers.
Translation by Giles Foster
