REYKJAVIK, Aug 17: The first Chinese ship has travelled from the Pacific to Atlantic via the Arctic along the Russian coast, an Icelandic scientist who participated on the expedition said on Friday.

The Chinese icebreaker Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, docked in Iceland after having sailed the so-called Northern Sea Route from the Pacific, Egill Thor Nielsson said.

“This is the first Chinese ship to sail this route and of course it is important because it's a more than 40 per cent shorter route to Europe,” he said.

The Chinese are even more interested in this route after having found the passage relatively easy.

“It took almost ten days to sail from the East Siberian Sea and through the Barents Sea, and during that time there was real pack ice for only seven days,” he said.—AFP