A container ship departed for Europe via the Arctic on the nation’s first commercial voyage on the route to test its viability, with the hope of turning the south-eastern port of Busan into a global maritime hub.
The PanStar Acro began sailing north on Saturday, hugging eastern Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula, crossing the Bering Sea and taking the Northern Sea Route.
It will stop in Felixstowe in Britain, Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Poland’s Gdansk before returning on a journey expected to take 40 to 45 days.
Seeking to make the Arctic a routine trade route by 2030, President Lee Jae-myung is positioning Busan as a key maritime hub.
But the project risks friction, with Western allies hoping to keep Russia isolated during its war in Ukraine.
Seoul has consulted with Moscow about the journey, including whether the ship needed help to tackle any problems, such as getting stuck in ice.
The Oceans Ministry and Russia’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
Last year, 88 vessels made 103 transits through the route, up from 97 in 2024 and 43 in 2022, chiefly from nations such as Russia and China, according to Norway’s Centre for High North Logistics.
Melting Arctic ice has made passage through the north easier, while the increased shipping in turn accelerates global warming, scientists say.
The 2,758 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit) container ship operated by PanStar has secured 837 TEU of cargo including auto parts, chemical products and about 100 empty containers on the government-backed voyage.
The PanStar Acro is scheduled to flag off around 8pm (1100 GMT) depending on loading and preparations, a government official said. — Reuters
