President Lee Jae Myung (center) on Oct. 13 is briefed on the Panstar Acro, a vessel that completed its pilot voyage on an Arctic shipping route two days earlier, at Pier 5 of Busan North Port in Busan's Dong-gu District.

By Charles Audouin
Photos = Cheong Wa Dae

The PanStar Acro has completed its trial voyage on an Arctic shipping route by returning to Busan on Oct. 11.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries on Oct. 13 said the vessel was the first container ship run by a domestic shipping company to travel between Korea and Europe via an Arctic route.

The PanStar Acro departed Busan Port on Aug. 22 and reached the port town of Felixstowe in Suffolk, England, in 20 days and five hours via the Northeast Passage. It later stopped in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and Gdansk, Poland, before returning to Busan through the same route.

The ministry said, "The significance of this trial voyage lies in how the government and the private sector, despite the uncertainties of the polar environment and the international situation, collaborated to assess the technical, environmental and commercial viability of the Arctic shipping route using a vessel carrying real containerized export cargo, thus creating a new option for Korea's maritime logistics network."

President Lee Jae Myung on Oct. 13 speaks at a welcoming ceremony for the PanStar Acro's historic voyage at the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology in Busan's Yeongdo-gu District.

President Lee Jae Myung on Oct. 13 attended a welcoming ceremony for the vessel at the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology in Busan's Yeongdo-gu District. He pledged to guard against premature optimism while preparing from a long-term perspective for the era of the Arctic shipping route.

Though this was the first voyage, he said, the ship transported 700 containers worth of export cargo including chemicals, vehicles and cosmetics to Europe, opening a new route for Korean companies.

He added that his administration will seek to connect Busan's ports, logistics and maritime finance with Ulsan's shipbuilding and clean energy and Gyeongsangnam-do Province's shipbuilding equipment and advanced manufacturing.

Building on the experience and data gathered from the voyage, Seoul will prepare for follow-up trial and commercial operations while continuing to promote the Arctic route as a long-term national initiative.

caudouin@korea.kr