A South Korean container ship will set off on the 22nd on the country's first trial voyage to Europe via the Arctic route. Using the Northeast Passage, the ship will carry container cargo from Busan to Europe, allowing operators to directly verify the sailing distance, duration and cost against existing routes.
Lee Su-ho, head of the Arctic Route Promotion Office at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said at a briefing on the 20th that "the Pan Star Arco, the vessel for the Arctic route trial voyage, will depart from Pier 3 at Busan New Port on the 22nd and sail to Europe via the Northeast Passage."
It is the first Arctic route trial voyage by a South Korean vessel in a decade, since 2016. It is also the first time a container ship has sailed the Arctic route, a milestone in testing the potential to build a full-scale logistics network.
The Pan Star Arco deployed for the trial is a 2,758 TEU container ship that Busan-based carrier Panstarline.com purchased from HMM. (One TEU equals a single 20-foot container.) It is also equipped with the ice-breaking capability needed for polar navigation.
The Pan Star Arco will leave Busan, pass through the Northeast Passage, and call at Felixstowe in Britain on September 9, Rotterdam in the Netherlands on September 11, and Gdansk in Poland on September 15. It will then return to Busan via the Northeast Passage, with the entire voyage lasting about 45 days. The ship is scheduled to arrive back in Busan around October 5.
The vessel is expected to enter the Northeast Passage around the 30th of this month and pass through Arctic waters around the 7th of next month. The sailing distance through the Arctic Ocean is about 6,400 km.
The ship will carry 737 TEU of cargo, including chemical products, used cars and auto parts. Including empty containers, the total load comes to 837 TEU. An initial demand survey had projected that up to 1,300 TEU could be loaded, but the figure fell short of that estimate as vessel preparations took longer than expected.
The ministry will operate a round-the-clock communication system with the Pan Star Arco throughout the voyage. The crew of about 20 includes a captain and navigating officers who have completed specialized training for polar navigation. A serving navigating officer from the icebreaking research vessel Araon, who has polar sailing experience, has also boarded as first officer to assist the captain.
Lee said, "Through this trial voyage, we aim to comprehensively confirm what will be needed to use the Northeast Passage commercially in the future," adding, "We will secure data on the economic viability of the Northeast Passage by analyzing the sailing distance, duration, fuel consumption and operating costs compared with existing routes."
The Arctic route has drawn fresh attention as climate change rapidly shrinks the area of Arctic sea ice. It is regarded as the shortest sea route linking Asia and Europe. The main options are the Northeast Passage, which runs from Europe north of Russia to the Pacific, and the Northwest Passage, which connects to the Pacific by way of northern North America.
Using the Northeast Passage, the sailing distance between Busan and Rotterdam in the Netherlands is 13,000 km, about 35% shorter than the 20,000 km of the existing route through the Suez Canal.
The ministry said uncertainty over sanctions on Russia, which had been raised during preparations for the voyage, has also been resolved. There had been concerns that a South Korean vessel could violate Western sanctions on Russia if it received route guidance from the Russian side and conducted transactions while passing through the Northeast Passage, but consultations with major relevant countries have been completed. For this trial voyage, the ship will reportedly not receive a Russian "icebreaker escort" either.
The ship insurance issue, which had remained unresolved and uncertain until the final stages of preparations, has also been settled.
The government is pursuing the activation of the Northwest Passage alongside the Northeast Passage. The Northwest Passage links South Korea and the east coast of North America by the shortest distance. Using the Northwest Passage from Ulsan to Quebec in Canada, the sailing distance is 13,500 km, 7,500 km, or about 35%, shorter than the existing route through the Panama Canal.
Lee said, "Overseas carriers currently transport pulp, minerals and other goods via the Northwest Passage," expressing hope that "if the Northwest Passage becomes active, it could help secure alternative routes for the stable transport of key raw materials and expand maritime logistics cooperation with North American countries."
However, the Northwest Passage reportedly has limits for container ship operations because of shallow-water stretches and other obstacles.
The Ulsan Port Authority and the Korea Ocean Business Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding on the 5th with a Dutch shipping company that has extensive polar navigation experience, in order to activate the Northwest Passage. Based on the agreement, the three organizations plan to expand cooperation by sharing polar navigation information and operating experience and by jointly identifying cargo demand that could be transported via the Northwest Passage.
