Why Has No Logistics Crisis Occurred at Busan Port Despite the Prolonged General Strike?

Container loading and unloading operations are taking place at Busan Port New Port.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Despite the second longest prolonged general strike in history, no logistics crisis occurred at Busan Port. The reason is attributed to the appropriate response by Busan Port Authority (BPA), including a 24-hour emergency response headquarters, internal traffic routes (ITT), and temporary storage yards.

On the 9th, the Cargo Solidarity declared the withdrawal of the strike after 16 days of collective transport refusal and returned to work, and the volume of cargo handled at Busan Port is rapidly returning to normal levels.

Busan Port Authority is evaluated to have handled Busan Port cargo stably without the anticipated logistics crisis despite the prolonged strike by Cargo Solidarity, in cooperation with the government and container terminal operators.

Before the strike, BPA communicated with terminal operators and others to prepare and implement countermeasures in advance, and operated a 24-hour emergency response headquarters throughout the strike period, monitoring storage rates and cargo import/export volumes to devise appropriate support measures.

Additionally, during the strike, BPA operated a constant communication channel with operators, shipping companies, and transport companies to frequently share on-site situations and promptly respond to any difficulties identified.

The existing three-day restriction period for export cargo terminal entry was temporarily lifted to allow early entry, and import cargo was encouraged to be dispatched, maintaining the storage rate at the 60% level even during the Cargo Solidarity strike period.

To this end, BPA prepared 12 temporary storage yards near the port to enable cargo storage at low cost.

Inside view of the pier internal thoroughfare (ITT).

Also, BPA immediately operated the internal traffic route (ITT) between piers, which contributed to preventing a logistics crisis during the Cargo Solidarity strike in June, enabling smooth movement of transshipment cargo.

In June, it was difficult to identify the ITT internal routes, but this was improved by marking guide lines and deploying guiding personnel inside the ITT to ensure drivers had no inconvenience using the internal routes.

During this strike period, containers using the internal traffic routes reached 209,757 TEU, nearly three times the usage compared to the transport refusal in June.

BPA also implemented measures to support additional costs such as berthing fees and pilotage fees for container ships that simultaneously called at both North Port and New Port or moved between two or more terminals to unload cargo.

Kang Jun-seok, President of BPA, said, “Although this collective transport refusal by Cargo Solidarity was the second longest in history, the government, BPA, and operators worked together to minimize the damage,” adding, “Even after the strike withdrawal, we will continuously monitor the situation and take necessary follow-up measures to ensure Busan Port operations return to full normalcy as soon as possible.”

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