South Korea Opens First Arctic Container Route to Europe
South Korea will launch its first commercial container voyage to Europe via the Northern Sea Route (NSR), with PanStar Line opening cargo bookings for the government-backed project. The trial voyage will leave Busan on 22 August, The Maritime Telegraph reports.
A chartered 2,800-TEU containership will sail through Arctic waters before calling at Rotterdam, Hamburg and Gdansk. PanStar wants to find out if the NSR can become a regular alternative to the Suez Canal.
The company says more exporters are booking cargo, including automotive parts, steel products, synthetic resins, food, liquid cargo, used vehicles and Korean cosmetics. It has also received interest in transshipment cargo from Japan and China.
The voyage is expected to take about 20 days, much less than the traditional Suez Canal route. After the trial, PanStar will review safety, schedule reliability and commercial results before deciding whether to start a regular Arctic container service.
