Busan Port Authority Holds Emergency Meeting on Russia-Ukraine Situation

Listening to the Status and Challenges of Customers Using Busan Port

Busan Port Authority Holds Emergency Meeting on Russia-Ukraine Situation.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Busan Port Authority held an emergency meeting on the 28th at the 5th-floor conference room of the Busan Port International Exhibition & Convention Center (BPEX) to identify the current status and difficulties of customers using Busan Port due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and to seek support measures.

The meeting was attended by representatives from about 10 companies, including shipping lines using Busan Port, the fisheries industry, and logistics companies.

The container cargo volume between Busan Port and Russia was about 830,000 TEU last year, ranking fourth after China, the United States, and Japan.

Transshipment cargo volume between Busan Port and Russia has increased continuously over the past five years, with an average annual growth rate of 35% since 2020.

This rapid growth in the TSR (Trans-Siberian Railway) intermodal transport market occurred because, as the prolonged logistics crisis caused by COVID-19 led to soaring maritime freight rates, cargoes from Asia to Europe began using the Russian TSR instead of sea routes.

When cargoes from Japan bound for Europe are transshipped at Busan Port and transported via the Russian TSR intermodal route, the transit time is reduced by at least 16 days compared to sea transport, and it is more cost-competitive than maritime or air transport.

However, due to the current situation, cargo booking for shipments to Russia has been repeatedly canceled, and some shipping lines calling at Far East Russia have suspended regular route operations.

Regular routes calling at Saint Petersburg Port (Russia's largest port) near Europe and Novorossiysk Port on the Black Sea coast have been completely suspended.

As of March, the number of regular Far East Russia routes from Busan Port has decreased from 15 to 10.

Shipping lines that suspended regular routes have temporarily halted operations on those routes but plan to deploy spot vessels to recover empty containers and transport temporarily stored cargo and additional volumes at Busan Port.

In the fisheries sector, Korea's annual import value of Russian seafood reaches 1.5 trillion KRW, and about 70% (approximately 910,000 tons) of seafood handling volume at Gamcheon Port consists of frozen Russian seafood.

Participants in the meeting requested that the government and related agencies approach strong sanctions against Russia, such as the EU's ban on Russian vessel entry, with caution, as sanctions on Russian ships and cargo could worsen the management of related industries and exacerbate logistics disruptions.

Kang Jun-seok, President of BPA, said, "If the Russia-Ukraine situation prolongs, worsening business conditions are expected across the shipping and logistics industries. We will strive to understand the difficulties of the industry and collect suggestions to create conditions that allow Busan Port customers to smoothly operate Russia-related businesses."

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