Korean container ship completes first round-trip Arctic voyage, returns to Busan after 50 days

Panstar Acro crosses Arctic Ocean twice, completing Europe round trip

Vessel called at UK, Netherlands and Poland ports; docked at Busan's Jasungdae Pier on Sunday

Government to analyze voyage data in push for regular Arctic service by 2030

The Panstar Acro, which set out on its Arctic route voyage on Aug. 22 [Panstar]

A South Korean container ship has completed the country's first round-trip voyage through the Arctic Ocean to Europe and back. The Panstar Acro, deployed by the government to test the commercial viability of the Arctic route, returned to Busan after 50 days at sea. Authorities will now analyze the time and costs of the actual voyage to determine whether a regular service is feasible.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said the Panstar Acro docked at Jasungdae Pier in Busan Port at 8:24 a.m. Sunday — 50 days after departing Busan on Aug. 22.

The Panstar Acro is a 2,758-TEU container ship (one TEU equals one 20-foot container). It left Busan on Aug. 22 carrying 837 TEUs of cargo and entered the Arctic Ocean on Aug. 31, passing through the Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Laptev Sea, Kara Sea and Barents Sea before arriving at Felixstowe, England, on Sept. 12.

The Panstar Acro, a container ship on a trial Arctic route voyage, navigates the Arctic Ocean after entering it on Sept. 2. Floating ice is visible ahead of the vessel. [Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Redistribution and DB prohibited] [Yonhap]

The vessel called at Rotterdam in the Netherlands the following day and then at Gdansk, Poland, on Sept. 18 before making the return journey through the Arctic Ocean to Busan. The homeward voyage was six days behind the originally scheduled return date of Monday, but the round trip was completed in full.

The voyage has drawn attention as the first round-trip Arctic route transit by a container ship. South Korean vessels have used the Arctic route before — including a 2013 voyage carrying naphtha from Russia — and there was another transit in 2016. But this marks the first time a container ship, the backbone of maritime freight logistics, has sailed through the Arctic Ocean to Europe and returned.

The Arctic route is gaining attention as a new maritime corridor linking Asia and Europe. It is divided into the Northeast Passage, which runs along Russia's northern coast, and the Northwest Passage, which crosses north of North America. The Panstar Acro used the Northeast Passage on this voyage.

Map of the Arctic route voyage path [Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries]

The government's focus now turns to the operational data gathered during the voyage. For the Arctic route to be viable as a commercial shipping lane, authorities must weigh not only sailing distance and transit time but also total costs including fuel. The government plans to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the Panstar Acro's route, voyage duration and fuel consumption.

The trial voyage also marks the starting point of the government's broader Arctic route development policy. The plan calls for building on operational experience and data to launch a regular Arctic service by 2030, then achieving economies of scale through larger container vessels by around 2035.

Developing the Arctic route is also tied to a policy of building up Busan as the hub of a southern maritime capital region. The government intends to use Busan Port as the primary base for Arctic route operations.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to hold a homecoming ceremony for the Panstar Acro at Busan Port on Tuesday.

adastra@heraldcorp.com