South Korea begins first commercial voyage via Northern Sea Route

South Korea is launching its first commercial container ship voyage to Europe via the Northern Sea Route passing through Russian territorial waters. With this step, which shortens travel time by approximately 35%, the Seoul administration aims to transform the Arctic route into a regular trade corridor by 2030 and turn Busan into a key maritime hub.

South Korea is sending a container ship to Europe via the Arctic Northern Sea Route passing through Russian territorial waters for the first time.

Planned in the shadow of potential tensions in the Seoul administration’s relations with Western nations, this voyage represents the country’s first commercial shipping step on the route in question.

According to reports by the Reuters and Yonhap agencies, the container vessel named PanStar Acro is scheduled to set sail on 22 August.

According to VesselFinder data, the Panama-flagged vessel, which has a capacity of 2,758 TEU, is carrying a cargo of 837 TEU comprising automotive spare parts and chemical products.

Carrying its cargo measured in TEU—a unit referring to the volume of a standard 20-foot container—the ship is scheduled to depart at approximately 20:00 local time (14:00 Türkiye time).

Advancing north along Kamchatka and crossing the Bering Sea to enter the Northern Sea Route, the ship will call at the ports of Felixstowe in the United Kingdom, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and Gdansk in Poland. The entire voyage is expected to take between 40 and 45 days.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has made Arctic maritime transport one of the country’s priorities. The Seoul administration plans to turn Busan into a key maritime hub through this route and make the Arctic region a regular trade passage by 2030.

According to calculations by South Korean officials, the Arctic route reduces navigation time by roughly 35%.

Nevertheless, the project carries the risk of complicating relations with Western allies who are attempting to isolate Russia internationally due to the conflict in Ukraine.

It is reported that the Seoul administration has held consultations with Moscow regarding the process, including the provision of assistance in possible emergencies such as the vessel becoming trapped in ice.

According to data from Norway’s High North Logistics Center, 88 vessels carried out a total of 103 transit passages last year on the route, which was used by 43 ships in 2022 and 97 ships in 2024.

The primary maritime traffic on the Arctic route was provided by Russia and China. Scientists point out that while melting glaciers facilitate navigation, increasing maritime traffic accelerates global warming.

As the shortest waterway between the European part of Russia and the Far East region, the Northern Sea Route lies entirely within the Arctic Ocean and partly within the seas of the Pacific Ocean, situated within Russian borders.

Transit permits for the route are issued by the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation, Rosatom.

Igor Tonkovidov, head of the Russian shipping company Sovcomflot, had previously proposed resuming cooperation between Russia and South Korea in the field of Northern Sea Route transportation.

Tonkovidov had called for revisiting the delivery to the Russian company of three Arctic-class liquefied natural gas tankers ordered from South Korea’s DSME shipyard.

Valued at $872.1 million, corresponding to approximately 74.24 billion roubles, this contract could not be fulfilled due to sanctions imposed following the start of the military operation.

South Korea is not the only country in the Asian region utilising the Northern Sea Route. At the beginning of August, Rosatom granted transit permission to seven vessels belonging to the Chinese shipping company Sea Legend.

Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev stated that the company aims to establish a regular line with weekly sailings throughout the navigation season.

Last year, China officially commissioned the world’s first Arctic express route connecting China and Europe. Within this framework, the container vessel Istanbul Bridge departed from the Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan and sailed to the Port of Felixstowe.

Stating that the surge in activity on the Northern Sea Route comes amid a crisis environment in the Strait of Hormuz, Likhachev noted that the Chinese company’s initiative confirms the growing demand for the Arctic passage and represents a new phase in this route becoming a transport artery of global significance.