Korean container ship flows through the Arctic to Gdansk

Container PanStar Acro came out on 22 August from Busan to Europe via the Arctic, with a planned wrap to Gdańsk. It's the first trial. voyage South Korean container ship North Sea Road.

According to the plan presented by the South Korean Oceans and Fisheries Ministry, the vessel is to enter North Sea Road around August 30 and defeat her arctic episode around September 7.

Then PanStar Acro It will go to Felixstowe, where it is expected on September 9. Two days later, he is to wrap to Rotterdam, while on 15 September, he enters Gdańsk. The return to Busan is scheduled for October 5. Whole voyage It is expected to last about 45 days, of which about 6400 km will take a route through the Arctic waters.

PanStar Acro check the North Sea Road

Voyage The main question is whether the use of the Northern Maritime Road can be justified from the point of view of regular container transport between South Korea and Europe. Seoul treats the expedition as an attempt to gather experience of Arctic shipping, transition time and the possibility of using this direction in commercial transport.

This is also the first since 2016 voyage South Korean vessel route through Arctic.

PanStar Acro is a container ship with a capacity of 2758 TEU, adapted for ice navigation. The ship is operated by a shipowner PanStar Line based in Busan. The current cruise on board includes 837 TEU cargoes, including chemical products, used cars and car parts. Some of the containers transported are empty.

The North Sea Road still has its limitations

However, this does not mean that the Arctic route can already be a simple alternative to the main routes of global container transport. Shipping in the north, it still depends on ice conditions, requires suitable vessels and entails restrictions that are not present on traditional commercial routes. That's why voyage PanStar Acro is primarily the nature of the test, not the announcement of a regular connection.

South Korea prepares to develop shipping in the north

Voyage PanStar Acro is also part of the wider activities of the South Korean authorities related to the development of the national maritime sector. The administration of President Lee Jae Myung moved the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Busan, wanting to strengthen the city's role as the main maritime economy center of the country.

Gdansk was among the three European ports planned on the route PanStar Acro. Wrapping into the Polish port will be one of the stages of a trial cruise from South Korea to Europe on the Northern Maritime Road. Only its results will show whether similar transport will be carried out more frequently in the future.