Busan Port 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.

China's fast-spreading coronavirus is throwing the global container shipping trade out of sync, with lines re-routing cargoes and reducing calls to Chinese ports, setting the scene for months of delivery delays ahead, industry sources said.The spread of the deadly virus has shut down cities and factories in China and disrupted global air travel.China's decision to extend its Lunar New Year holiday period until Feb. 10 has compounded logistical complications, despite its ports staying open.

Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) announced that its cargo processing at Busan Port for January to July 2018, has hit a new record.Processed cargo during the first seven months of this year reached 1,157,980 TEU, an increase of 14.3 percent year-over-year.For the volume of exports and imports has recorded 608,872 TEU, a soaring 14.1 percent year-over-year.Also, the transit cargo volume increased from 473,341 TEU to 541,926 TEU, up 14.5% year-over-year.HMM attributed the performance to its service & volume reliability, and the launch of Asia Europe Express (AEX) service last April.An HMM official said, “Since Hanjin shipping’s collapse, HMM cargo processing at Busan port has hit a new record…

India signed an MoU with the Republic of Korea (South Korea) on Mutual Recognition of Certificates of Competency of Seafarers. This paves the way for the two governments to mutually recognize  the certificates of  maritime education and training, competency, endorsements and medical fitness of seafarers issued by each other. The agreement was signed by Nitin Gadkari, Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation and his Korean counterpart Kim Young-choon at a ceremony in Busan. Speaking on the occasion Gadkari said that the signing of the agreement will benefit both countries. Korea is a large ship owning nation. As of now, Korean entities own more than 500 foreign going ships, and  need seafarers to work on their fleet.

Nitin Gadkari, India's Union Minister of Shipping will be on an official visit to the Republic of Korea (South Korea) from today (9 April 2018). During the 4 day visit, Shri Gadkari will focus on taking forward the bilateral cooperation between India andKorea in shipping, ports, inland waterways, highways, river interlinking and infrastructure sectors. An Undertaking on Mutual Recognition of Certificate of Competency of sea-farers will be signed during the visit. Known for maritime technology prowess, Republic of Korea (RoK) had partnered with the Ministry of Shipping in the Maritime India Summit held in Mumbai during April 2016. This visit will further promote the bilateral cooperation.

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.

Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) announced that its cargo processing at Busan Port, the largest sea gateway in Korea, has hit a new record. HMM handled 167,018 TEUs of cargo through the port in July, increased by 93 percent year-over-year. HMM has previously set a record of handling over 150 thousand TEUs in Busan Port in April and successfully set a new record of handling over 160 thousand TEUs after just three months. Transit cargo, in particular, has recorded 85,717 TEUs - soaring 133 percent year-over-year. Its market share also set a new record of 10 percent, handling the second-largest volume after Maersk. Processed cargo during the first seven months of the year reached 1.01 million TEUs, which is HMM’s first million TEU record in Busan Port this year.

Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has announced that its Asia-US west coast (USWC) volume in June 2017 increased 77% year-on-year. According to PIERS Data, HMM’s Asia-USWC handling cargo rose year-on-year from 7,953 TEU/WK to 14,055 TEU/WK (up 77%) at the end of June 2017. Moreover, HMM ranked 4th in terms of market share, up from 12th the previous year. HMM’s Asia-all US route cargo handling also rose year-on-year from 11,626 TEU/WK to 17,291 TEU/WK (up 49%) in June 2017. Furthermore, HMM’s USWC market share has grown to 7.4%, up 3.4%p from the same month last year. While, HMM's cargo processing at Busan Port, the largest sea gateway in Korea, increased by 91 percent last month from a year ago.

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.

The new container carrier SM Line, owned by South Korean Samra Midas (SM) Group, will launch its first service in the second week of March. The shipper which took over Hanjin's service network between Asia and the US, will also take over several of Hanjin's terminals in South Korea. According to a report in Pulse, it will set sail on its maiden voyage on March 8 along the East and South China Sea with 1,000 twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) container onboard. The fledgling shipper’s first cargo service will depart Busan port in southern Korea and stop at China, Thailand, and Vietnam, according to shipping industry sources on Sunday. The carrier’s first full service in its Asia-North America route - leaving Busan and arriving at Long Beach Terminal in California, U.S - is scheduled on April 21.

The volume of cargo processed at South Korea's seaports reached a record high last year despite a global economic slump and the collapse of the country's leading shipper, Korea Herals quoted the government as saying. Cargo handled at seaports across the nation totaled 1.5 billion tons in 2016, up 2.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Trade cargo totaled 1.23 billion tons, while domestic shipments came to 265 million tons. The increase came mainly from the 3.1-percent rise in non-container cargo to 1.06 billion tons. "Meanwhile, container cargo also increased 1 percent (on-year) to 25.9 million twenty-foot-equivalent-units (TEUs) in spite of many difficulties including a global economic slump and the court receivership of Hanjin Shipping…

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.

The upcoming reorganization of global shipping alliances is likely to hit Korea’s largest port in Busan and  the harbor volume of Busan Port is expected to drop by 3.5 percent from next year, the Korea Herald reported quoting Korea Maritime Institute (KMI)’s report. KMI  announced on December 22 that as a result of the analysis of the port rotation adjustment plans formulated by the soon-to-be-established shipping alliances "Ocean" and "THE Alliance," the number of shipping services using the port of Busan is likely to decline by three compared to the current figures. Busan Port managed containers of more than 10 million twenty-foot equivalent units last year. Of those, the Asia-North America route accounted for 36.7 percent while the Asia-Europe shipping line made up 6.7 percent.

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.

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.

South Korea’s government is discussing whether to merge or sell  Hanjin Shipping and Hyundai Merchant Marine in an attempt at state-led industrial restructuring. But the two lines in question belong to different container alliances, are fierce rivals and have both denied that Seoul is trying to coerce them to merge. “There is a need to maintain the existence of the two companies when considering the impact a merger could have on South Korea’s import- and export-oriented economy and global shipping alliances, as well as the transhipment competiveness of Busan port,” the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said in its rebuttal of the argument.