Lee Hyo-sik is Finance Desk editor at The Korea Times. He manages finance-related stories on macroeconomics, banks, stocks, bonds, crypto etc. He is passionate about covering what's happening in Korea's financial industry and explaining it to both Korean and non-Korean readers. You can reach him at leehs@koreatimes.co.kr. Your insights and feedbacks are always appreciated.
Busan emerges as hub port in Northeast Asia
Busan Port, a maritime logistics hub in Northeast Asia, particularly for multinational freighters heading to and from northern China and western Japan / Courtesy of Busan Port Authority
By Lee Hyo-sik
By Lee Hyo-sik
Busan Port has become a maritime logistics hub in Northeast Asia, particularly for multinational freighters heading to and from Northern China and Western Japan.
Thanks to its state-of-the-art loading and unloading facilities operating 24 hours a day, a skilled labor force and attractive incentives provided to shipping firms, it has attracted global shipping lines seeking to establish a strong presence in the region.
"Busan Port is the world’s sixth-largest container port, ideally located in the center of Northeast Asia,” said a spokesman for Busan Port Authority. “It offers all possible services shipping firms need in order to transport cargo to their destinations in the most cost-effective and efficient manner.”
The authority said Busan Port closed only 7 days in 2014, due to unfavorable weather conditions and other reasons, while Shanghai and Qingdao shut its docks 11 days and 52 days, respectively.
The port has established an excellent feeder network connecting ports in China, Japan, Russia and 150 other countries, while serving 56 domestic and foreign shipping companies.
In 2014, Busan Port handled 63.5 percent of the country’s export and import cargo shipments, and dealt with 95.5 percent of cargo transshipments.
Its New Port, which offers depth to accommodate oversized vessels with capacity of more than 10,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), has further raised Busan's international profile as Northeast Asia's logistics center.
The authority has invested hundreds of billions of won to create a large logistics industrial complex next to the New Port in a bid to attract more multinational transport firms and generate thousands of new jobs.
It has also spent hundreds of billions of won to redevelop its existing North Port.