Qingdao skipper completes record Arctic voyage

Chinese skipper Guo Chuan's international crew completed a nonstop voyage through the Arctic Ocean on Wednesday morning on the trimaran Qingdao China to set a world record for the fastest cross-Arctic navigation.

Qingdao China, which set sail on Sept 3 from the Russian port city of Murmansk, passed the finish line on the Bering Strait early on Wednesday morning after a 13-day, over 3,240 nautical-mile (6,000 km) voyage through the Arctic's Northeast Passage.

It was the first time a racing trimaran sailed nonstop along the Arctic route in just 13 days. The passage is shorter than the current shipping route, but has never been conquered by civilian or commercial vessels before.