South Korean Container Ship Completes Its First 50 Day Round Trip To Europe Via Arctic

PanStar Acro, operated by the PanStar Group, becomes South Korea’s first-ever commercial container ship to complete a trial round-trip via an Arctic shipping route along Russian waters.

The ship, which departed from the Busan Port, was on a voyage to Europe. It set sail on August 22 and made its return to its departing port on the morning of October 11.

PanStar Acro was on a 50-day round-trip and was scheduled to arrive by October 5. But it took 6 extra days to arrive, and at 8:24 a.m. local time, it docked at Busan Port’s Jasongdae Pier on Sunday, as reported by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, South Korea. There were no major reports of occurrence of any incidents during the voyage.

On its outbound journey through the Arctic waters, the vessel first reached Felixstowe and then called at Rotterdam and Gdansk.

The container bears a capacity of 2,758 TEU. Although the initial cargo capacity was targeted to be approximately 1,300 TEU, it only carried 737 TEU of cargo along with empty containers during the trip. This change in cargo capacity puts a point of concern regarding commercial shipping across the route.

Although Korean ships have already taken trips through the Arctic shipping route, the PanStar Acro became the first commercial container ship to make the trial round-trip via this route to Europe.

As per reports, PanStar Acro’s Busan-Rotterdam voyage took approximately 22 days, while a similar one-way voyage through the Suez Canal would typically take around 30-40 days. So, the route through the Arctic waters saves around 8-12 days as compared to the journey through the Suez Canal.

President Lee Jae-myung took to social media on Sunday and said that based on the success of this trial voyage, the South Korean government would gradually start preparing for an Arctic shipping era. The authorities are also reportedly expecting Arctic shipping services to be regular by the year 2030.

While working on Arctic shipping services, the government is also aiming to improve the connectivity between Europe and Asia while strengthening Busan’s position to be recognised as a global maritime hub.

Disclaimer :
The information on this website is for general purposes only. While efforts are made to ensure accuracy, we make no warranties of any kind regarding completeness, reliability, or suitability. Any reliance you place on such information is at your own risk. We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from the use of this website.