Ports and maritime infrastructures are some of the core elements of China’s connectivity-boosting Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), in that they help the People’s Republic to access foreign markets and gain more control of trade routes.1 As such, BRI-related deals involving ports have been a special focus of the debate, and concerns, surrounding the Initiative.

The greater relevance of Northern European ports over those in Southern Europe has long been a fact. Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Antwerp in Belgium and Hamburg in Germany have been thriving for decades as Europe’s main maritime hubs, and future access to the Arctic route has the potential to further strengthen their position. This, to a certain extent, might come at the expense of other European ports.