Gov't commissions research to promote use of arctic route: sources

A ship navigates through floating ice in the Arctic Ocean, Sept. 15, 2020. AFP-Yonhap

Korea's oceans ministry has recently commissioned a research project aimed at devising strategies to promote the use of a possible arctic shipping route able to handle traffic in 2030, sources said Sunday.

The project seeks to assess the commercial viability of such a route, including a survey on shipping companies and logistics firms in regard to using such a route, the sources said.

Developing plans to establish a logistics network linked to ports in Northern Europe is also included among the project's objectives, they added.

Arctic shipping routes are maritime paths through the Arctic Ocean that connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In the case of Korea, they can reduce the distance between the country and Europe by around 35 percent compared to the conventional Suez Canal route.

The routes have been in the spotlight as a major alternative waterway after changes to the climate raised hopes that ships will be able to transit the Arctic Ocean going forward. In addition, the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, which have affected shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, are further generating interest in the routes.

China has shown particular interest in the arctic route and has already operated vessels inside the waterway 29 times last year.

The Seoul government also seeks to make full-scale entry into the route starting with a pilot operation later this month. The round-trip voyage between the southern port city of Busan and Amsterdam in the Netherlands is expected to take around 40 to 45 days.

The government plans to open a regular service route in 2030 and start operating large-scale container ships around 2035.