Chinese skipper Guo Chuan said he was "on top of the world" after his maxi trimaran Qingdao China completed the first nonstop journey through the Northeast Passage of the Arctic Ocean.

Along with his crew from France, Germany and Russia, Guo completed the journey from the Russian city of Murmansk to the Bering Strait, which separates Russia from Alaska, becoming the first team to do so without stopping aboard a sailing boat.

They began the journey of just over 6,000 kilometers on September 3, reaching the virtual finish line between Cape Dezhnev and the island of Big Diomede at 16:48 GMT on Tuesday. "I'm so on the top of the world. It's such an unbelievable moment," said the skipper.