Government to Deploy More Than Six Temporary Ships Monthly to Resolve 'Export Logistics Crisis'

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The government will deploy at least six temporary vessels per month on the trans-Pacific route until September to alleviate logistics difficulties faced by export-import companies.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a 'Win-win Meeting between Shipping Companies and Cargo Owners to Resolve Export-Import Logistics Difficulties' on the afternoon of the 21st at the Korea International Trade Association in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, with cargo owners, shipping companies, and logistics industry representatives, and decided to implement additional support measures as such.

The government deployed the maximum number of nine vessels available this month on the trans-Pacific route and plans to deploy at least six vessels each in the following month and September. For temporary vessels heading to the U.S. West Coast, 1000 TEU (1 TEU equals one 20-foot container) per voyage will be allocated for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) cargo. For existing regular vessels bound for the U.S. West Coast, 450 TEU per week will be supported as long-term contracted volume for SMEs starting next month.

Regarding the Southeast Asia route, the government will secure spare vessels through joint operations by domestic shipping companies and also promote the additional deployment of temporary vessels. For regular vessels heading to Southeast Asia, 150 TEU per week will be allocated as SME-exclusive shipping capacity starting next month.

Earlier this month, through the second supplementary budget bill, the government increased the freight support budget for this year from 12.1 billion KRW to 26.3 billion KRW, strengthening freight support by introducing logistics vouchers. The 'third-party logistics tax credit,' which ended last year, will also be reintroduced. This system allows cargo owners to deduct 3% of the excess logistics expenses paid to logistics specialists compared to the previous year from their taxes.

For cargo owners who could not find storage space due to shipment delays, additional alternative storage yards will be supplied by utilizing available sites such as the western hinterland of Busan New Port and Angol.

Additionally, for companies that suffered damages due to delayed export logistics processing, the limit for early cash conversion of export receivables will be doubled. For shipping companies, 5 billion KRW from the supplementary budget will be allocated to support 20% of transportation costs for SMEs that have signed long-term transportation contracts with domestic shipping companies to ensure stable cargo procurement. Comprehensive information will also be provided through a logistics information platform so that cargo owners and the logistics industry can predict additional vessel deployment plans and cargo volumes.

Furthermore, as the third case of a win-win transportation support project between large and small-medium enterprises, Hyundai Glovis will load SME cargo such as agricultural machinery and cables together on its car carriers.

Moon Sung-hyuk, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, stated, "Since global cargo volume is expected to increase in the third quarter as usual, we plan to continuously promote export logistics support measures in cooperation with related ministries and domestic shipping companies."

Moon Seung-wook, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, "We will continue to communicate closely with related industries and organizations to prepare effective measures so that exports this year can not only rebound but achieve record-high performance, providing wholehearted support."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.