Busan Port Authority News

The Northwest Seaport Alliance announced its newest decarbonization effort as part of the Green Shipping Challenge at the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP 27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh.The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), the marine cargo partnership between the Port of Tacoma and the Port of Seattle, announced its partnership with the Republic of Korea, the Busan Port Authority, and the United…

Ship refuelling operations were temporarily halted at South Korea's Busan and Ulsan ports on Tuesday after typhoon Hinnamnor hit the country's southern region, trade sources said.The halt in operations also paused spot premiums for low-sulphur bunker fuel offered at these ports this week at about $60 per tonne over Singapore fuel oil quotes, bunker fuel traders at South Korean companies said.Operations are likely to resume gradually later in the week, though fresh slots for bunkering are likely to start only from next week onwards…

Unable to get a slot on a container vessel, Lee Sang-hoon is considering using fishing trawlers docked for repair in the South Korean port of Busan to meet surging export orders for the car engine oil he sells to Russia."China is the black hole in this shipping crisis, all the carriers are headed there," said Lee, owner of Dongkwang International Co. in Busan which makes about 20 billion won ($17.60 million) in annual revenue."Those fishing boats out there could be an answer for us because we're already one month behind schedule.

ABB said it has secured a contract with Haemin Heavy Industries shipyard to provide a complete power and propulsion solution for Busan Port Authority’s first all-electric passenger ferry.Due for delivery in 2022, the new ferry represents the first commitment by South Korean authorities to a plan which will see 140 state-owned conventionally powered vessels replaced with those operating on cleaner alternatives by 2030, in line with South Korea’s plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.As the first system integrator chosen to support this initiative…

Severe congestion at Chinese ports is easing, say officials and industry participants, although a logjam of refrigerated containers has disrupted supplies of fresh and frozen food and pushed up freight rates outside China.Thousands of refrigerated containers carrying meat, seafood and fruit from around the world to China have been stuck for weeks at the country's ports after Beijing extended its Lunar New Year holiday and cities around the nation restricted free movement to curb…

South Korean port company Busan Port Authority (BPA) said that it signed a contract with Samsung SDS to operate a logistics center in Rotterdam.BPA will begin a construction of the logistics center in September this year and complete and operate it in around June 2021.Samsung SDS, a subsidiary of Samsung group has been providing information technology services,  will provide comprehensive logistics services for small and medium-sized companies conducting business between Europe and South-Korea for 10 years from the opening of the logistics center.The signing ceremony was attended by Hong Won-pyo, CEO of Samsung SDS, as well as Joanne Doornewaard, Dutch Ambassador in South-Korea and officials from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

Busan Port Authority carried out marketing activities to attract T/S cargo from three global major shipping alliances through visiting their Asian Pacific regional headquarters. The three global alliances, 2M(Maersk, MSC), OCEAN (CMA·CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, OOCL), THE(Hapag-Loyd, Yang-Ming, ONE), calling at Busan Port account for 80percent of global cargo volume. Busan Port handled 71 percent(7.28 million TEU) of their T/S cargo and it played a significant role in achieving 20 million TEU. BPA will inform its plans including revised incentive schemes, Busan New Port dredging construction completion, removing To-do islet, and ITT to alliances. It will also try to resolve their difficulties and meet demands.

To this end, BPA plans to convert 5 conventional RTGC into fully electric RTGs (E-RTGC) by the end of this year and will convert 85 more RTGC equipment. The e-RTGC conversion project is conducted by BPA and Busan Port Terminal Corp. BPA will cover the construction expenses for infrastructures at Gamman Pier 2,3,4 berth to provide electricity and BPT will pay for the equipment renovation.

On June 29, Vice Minister of Transport in Vietnam, Nguyen Van Cong accompanied by delegates from Vietnam Maritime Administration (VMA) and Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) visited Hyundai Merchant Marine(HMM).   The delegates arrived Korea on 26th at the invitation of Busan Port Authority (BPA).    HMM CEO, Yoo Chang-Keun and executives have attended the meeting, discussing various cooperative methods for port business in Vietnam.   The Vietnamese delegation was in Korea to attend Korea Maritime Week.

Busan Port Authority (BPA, president WOO Ye-jong) stated that BPA held a meeting for KOR·JPN passenger liners(six companies) and Busan Tourism Organization on the 30th in order to attract more international passengers to the Busan Port. The meeting aims to vitalize the local tourism industry which is stagnated from domestic economic recession and boom of low cost carrier.   BPA plans to continue its effort to improve passenger service at Busan Port and to stregnthen cooperation with shipping liners and tourism organization by having regular meetings between private and public sectors.

Though Busan Port, the largest customer of Hanjin Shipping and hit hardest by the Liner's collapse,  asserts that everything is under control, doubts are being raised on Hanjin rehab plan as ships clog at the South Korean port, reports Reuters. As 13 Hanjin ships crowded waters outside the country's biggest port, the South Korean court handling Hanjin's receivership cast doubt on the container carrier's ability to survive a restructuring. A rehabilitation plan for the world's seventh-largest container carrier is "realistically impossible" if top priority debt such as backlogged charter fees exceed 1 trillion won ($896 million), the Seoul Central District Court said, South Korea's Yonhap newswire reported on Wednesday.

Lim Ki-Tack, who has been elected as the next secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in a ballot, will start his four-year term in the beginning of next year, the South Korean government said, reports Yonhap. Lim will replace Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu to become the 9th IMO secretary-general starting Jan. 1. With six candidates in the running  it took five rounds of voting before Lim was able to collect more than half the 40 votes from IMO Council members. His inauguration was approved unanimously by the IMO’s general assembly last month, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. “I will go through thorough organization analysis and assessment to make the IMO become a more transparent and efficient international agency,” Lim was quoted as saying.

The Busan Port Authority (BPA) announced Woo Ye-jong has been named as its new CEO, as appointed by the Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Woo took office on July 31, 2015 and will serve for a three year term. He succeeds Lim Ki-tack who will take over as Secretary General at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in January 2016. On taking his new role, Woo said, “My focus as CEO will be on strengthening the port’s competiveness by improving efficiency and keeping control of costs. Woo is keen to work closely with the port’s terminal operators and to reflect their ideas and opinions in BPA’s future strategy. BPA said it will also help relieve some of the burden currently facing its terminal operators, particularly issues that have the potential to result in job losses.

A new liquefied natural gas (LNG)-bunkering terminal may become operational at South Korea's Busan New Port by 2020. South Korean shipping company Polaris Shipping will reportedly invest $500 million (KRW 600 billion) to construct the facility. According to IHS, the terminal will occupy a 185,700 m² site in Busan New Port and is to have four berths and two LNG tanks. Busan Port Authority and Busan Regional Oceans & Fisheries Administration had received a business proposal from Polaris Shipping and sought approval from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. According to Busan New Container Terminal Co., Ltd. (BNCT), the newest container terminal in Busan, continues to grow rapidly welcoming 7 new large services in the last 6 months.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA)  and the Port of Rotterdam Authority have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to exchange information on marine services and jointly collaborate on research and development in the areas of service efficiency and optimisation, and new developments in the maritime and port sectors. Under the MoU the two parties will exchange information on marine services, including standards, and regulatory frameworks for bunkering and other marine services, as well as the application of information technology in providing those services. The Research and development side of the agreement covers service efficiency and optimisation, as well as new developments such as LNG bunkering and green technology.

The Korean government announced plans to add a further 15 berths to its flagship Busan New Port in the south of the country to increase container capacity by 15.8 million TEU. The new facilities will be a mix of container terminals, feeder terminals and multipurpose terminals and work will begin in stages based on actual cargo demand and under the coordination of central government. Development began at Busan New Port in 1994, and today it operates 22 berths with an additional eight currently under construction. Total container throughput at Busan Port Authority (BPA) reached 18.68 million in 2014 with the New Port accounting for 64% or 11.93 million TEU.

Yesterday in Malmö, Sweden, the Korean Shipowners’ Association (KSA) made a donation of $50,000 to the World Maritime University. The donation was handed over by KSA chairman, Youn-jae Lee, at a ceremony attended by Cleopatra Doumibia-Henry (president designate of WMU) and Neil Bellefontaine (current president). WMU moved into Malmö city earlier this month and KSA’s donation will be used to furbish the university’s cafeteria which has now been named KSA Hall. KSA said it maintains strong relationships with WMU as more than 80 Korean shipping professionals have graduated from the university.

In response to Northeast Asia’s rapidly growing attractiveness as a cruise destination, South Korea’s port of Busan is bringing new facilities on-stream this year and has unveiled plans for further developments in the future. In September, the port will officially open a new cruise terminal to complement the current facility – Yeongdo Cruise Pier, opened in 2007 – to accommodate the trend for larger vessels. The new terminal is located in the redeveloped area of Busan Old Port and has excellent connections to central Busan and is directly connected to the bullet train station. This facility will take cruise ships up to 130,000t and has 360m of quay length with 12m of water depth. The new terminal facility is a six-story building with total area of 93,932 square meters.

Ki-tack Lim from the Republic of Korea has been elected as the new Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), with effect from January 1, 2016, for an initial term of four years, the IMO announced. The current president of Busan Port Authority, Lim has served as the Republic of Korea’s Deputy Permanent Representative to IMO from 2006 to 2009 and was Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Flag State Implementation (FSI) from 2002 to 2004. Lim majored in nautical science at the Korea Maritime and Ocean University (KMOU), Busan, graduating in 1977.

Port of Busan aims to handle 13 million TEU of trans-shipment cargo by 2020 ranking it number two in the world. A long-term vision and strategy to develop the Port of Busan into a global transshipment hub port has been announced by the Korean Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries together with the Busan Port Authority (BPA). In recent years, transshipment cargo at Busan has grown by an average of 10 percent year-on-year while local cargo has increased by 4.2 percent. In 2014, trans…

One of Asia’s largest port authorities has signed a landmark cooperation agreement with the company building a new container terminal at Liverpool in the heart of the U.K. Peel Ports Group and Busan Port Authority will now work together to hone technical, economical and commercial acumen and increase investment in infrastructure and environmental developments. Lim Ki-tack, president of Busan Port Authority, travelled to the U.K. to meet Mark Whitworth, CEO of Peel Ports Group, and sign the agreement November 14.

The Korean Register of Shipping (KR) (an IACS member classification society) and the Busan Port Authority (BPA) (the fifth largest container port in the world) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cooperate on environmental initiatives and other maritime activities. The MoU allows both parties to cooperate and consult on the development of an evaluation index for eco-friendly ships and green ship verification services. Cooperation will also extend to new and renewable energy sectors such as solar and wind energy as well as initiatives for assisting local business expansion.

Adelte, a designer and manufacturer of sophisticated Seaport Passenger Boarding Bridges (SPBBs) for cruise and ferry terminals has recently won eight contracts for the supply in 2014 of a total of eleven tailor-made SPBBs to the ports of Rotterdam, Stornoway, Swinoujscie and Ullapool in Northern Europe, Denia and Savona in Southern Europe and Busan and Singapore in Asia. Adelte has been awarded a contract by the Rotterdam Port Authority to install this summer a new KRONUS SPBB, which will replace the current system.