BEIJING: A Chinese cargo ship crossed the Arctic Ocean for the first time reaching Rotterdam in the Netherlands on Tuesday.

The voyage is regarded by some shipping experts as an audacious feat and has opened up a new sea route for China. The new route opened up after global warming made it possible to travel over parts of the usually frozen Arctic Ocean.

The voyage by the ship 'Yong Sheng' took two weeks less than the 45 days it takes for a ship from China going to Europe using the conventional Suez Canal and Malacca Straits routes. Chinese shippers will be able to use the new route from July to November with the help of Russian ice breakers.

The Arctic Council has given observer status to some countries including India, China, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and the European Union. Ships from Japan and South Korea have already traversed the Arctic sea route. But the entry of China with its massive cargo requirements for cargo shipping is expected to turn it into a major shipping route, observers said.

China has been desperately looking for alternative sea routes to reduce its dependence on the increasingly risky and congested Malacca route. It has been heavily assisting Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Pakistan with finance and port construction in its quest for new sea routes. The Arctic Route offers Chinese shippers a limited alternative at least for a few months a year, observers said.