Seatrade Maritime: South Korea prepares for Arctic container transit pilot

A 3,000 teu South Korean-flagged vessel is expected to make a pilot voyage from Busan to Rotterdam this summer via the Northern Sea Route (NSR), according to reports from consultant Alphaliner.

South Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries committed to investing in ice strengthened vessel designs and upgrading the ports of Jinhae and Gwangyang in preparation for NSR services that are expected to begin by 2030.

Based on a Pohang University study which concluded that the NSR would be fully accessible and open to operations by 2030 Seoul is investing around $1.25 billion into its shipping industry. In addition, the minister, Chung Jae-soo, announced a further $7.6 million in funding for each ice-classed vessel.

“Complementary funding will go into research and technological development, including the construction of next-generation ice-capable research vessels and the establishment of a specialized training program for polar ship engineers,” according to local reports.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, however, sounded a note of caution saying that the NSR could only resume once the conflict between Ukraine and Russia has come to an end.

“To date, shipping operations on the Northern Sea Route have been dominated by Russian and Chinese operators. An estimated 15 NSR container ship transits were made in 2025, a new high after 2024’s 11 transits,” said Alphaliner.

Up to now most vessels operating on the NSR have linked China to St Petersburg, an exception was the September voyage of the 4,890 teu Istanbul Bridge, which was operating on Sea Legend’s Arctic Express service.

Alphaliner added that South Korea will establish a marine cluster in the first six months of this year, aimed at bringing together maritime corporations, public institutions and a maritime court in the southeast region.