South Korea to send its first container ship through Arctic

SEOUL: South Korea plans its first trial voyage through the Arctic this week as Middle East conflict disrupts global shipping, Seoul’s oceans ministry said Thursday, while environmental groups warn the route could accelerate melting of polar ice.

Global shipping has been heavily disrupted by war in the Middle East, sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February — prompting shipping companies and governments to explore alternative routes.

The voyage follows that of the Chinese container ship “Dubai Tower”, which left the eastern port city of Ningbo for Europe this month, heading north through the Bering Strait before turning west along Russia’s Arctic coast.

The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is only accessible during the time of the year when the ice is melted enough to allow transits without icebreakers.

“South Korea’s trial voyage is currently expected to depart on the evening of August 22, though the schedule time could change depending on weather conditions, including typhoons,” a spokesman for the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries told AFP.

The container ship will sail to Europe via the Arctic, testing whether a route opened by melting sea ice can be commercially viable.

The Arctic route “is bound to become an alternative to Middle Eastern routes,” South Korea’s vice oceans minister Nam Jae-hon said recently.

Busan-based shipping company PanStar Line Dot Com has been selected to operate the trial, using the container vessel Panstar Acro, according to the ministry.

“The ship will depart from Busan and sail to Felixstowe in Britain, Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Gdansk in Poland before returning, with the entire voyage expected to take around 45 days,” the spokesman said.

The usual maritime route between Asia and Europe runs through the Suez Canal, but travelling through the Arctic can cut the journey by around 7,000 kilometres and about 10 days, according to the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy.

Vice minister Nam said the route was becoming increasingly attractive not only because of political risks elsewhere, but also because technological advances were improving its cost competitiveness.

South Korea has been laying the groundwork for greater use of the route. A special law aimed at promoting the use of the Arctic shipping route while fostering related industries was passed in May.

Prior to China’s “Dubai Tower”, Danish shipping giant Maersk was among the first major container carriers to test the route in 2018.

Environmental groups warn growing traffic along the shorter NSR could accelerate Arctic sea ice loss, already worsened by global warming.

Major carriers, including France’s CMA CGM, Switzerland-headquartered MSC and Germany-based Hapag-Lloyd, have pledged to avoid Arctic trans-shipment routes.