Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo (right) and Panstar Group Chairman Kim Hyeon-gyeom sign an MOU at Busan City Hall on Thursday to promote Arctic route operations and the development of related industries. [Busan City]
Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo (right) and Panstar Group Chairman Kim Hyeon-gyeom sign an MOU at Busan City Hall on Thursday to promote Arctic route operations and the development of related industries. [Busan City]

The Busan city government signed an MOU Thursday with Panstar Enterprise and Panstar Line Dotcom at the international protocol hall of City Hall to cooperate on Arctic route operations and the development of related industries. The agreement covers building a cooperative framework to support Panstar's Arctic route trial voyage, joint efforts to attract cargo, information sharing related to the trial run, and broader cooperation to promote the Arctic route.

Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo, Panstar Group Chairman Kim Hyeon-gyeom and Panstar Executive Vice President for External Affairs Kwak In-seop attended the signing ceremony.

Amid accelerating climate change and a reshaping of global supply chains, the Arctic route has drawn attention as a future pillar of maritime logistics — capable of cutting shipping distances by about 30% and travel time by more than 10 days compared with the Suez Canal, reducing logistics costs while stabilizing supply chains. Busan is pursuing the development of an Arctic route hub city as a core project it sees as decisive for the city's future growth.

The voyage carries particular significance as the first Arctic container ship trial run in South Korea, an initiative led by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and organized by the Korea Ocean Business Corporation and the Korea Shipowners' Association. Panstar Line Dotcom will deploy the Panstar Acro, a 2,800-TEU container ship equipped with ice-class capabilities suited for polar navigation. The vessel is set to depart Busan Port on Saturday and sail through the Bering Strait and the Arctic Ocean to the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

The city plans to use the operational expertise and know-how Panstar accumulates during the trial voyage to define Busan's specific functions and role on the Arctic route, and to develop step by step the support systems and tailored policies needed to establish the city as an Arctic route hub.

"This MOU will serve as an important foundation for Busan — once at the far edge of Asia — to emerge as a hub city on the Arctic route, the fastest link between Europe and Asia," Mayor Jeon said. "Together with Panstar, we will open a new path for South Korea's maritime logistics and make Busan the undisputed maritime capital."


kaf2002@heraldcorp.com