Yeosu Gwangyang Port Selected as Best Port

At the International Port Association General Assembly, Selected in Two Environmental Safety Categories

Chosen Amid 25-to-1 Global Port Competition

Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority (President Park Seong-hyun, hereinafter YGPA) announced that Yeosu Gwangyang Port was selected as the best port in both the ‘Environment’ and ‘Safety’ categories, becoming the first domestic port and the only one among the world’s leading ports to receive this distinction at the 34th International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) General Assembly held on the 1st in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The International Association of Ports and Harbors holds the ‘IAPH Sustainability Awards’ annually to evaluate the sustainable growth of ports worldwide.

Scene from the award ceremony at the IAPH World Congress on November 1 [Photo by Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority]

Through a fair evaluation process consisting of 70% expert jury assessment and 30% global public online voting across six award categories over one year, the best ports are selected. The announcement and award ceremony for the best ports are held as a highlight event during the IAPH World Congress.

Yeosu Gwangyang Port competed against world-renowned ports such as Rotterdam, Hamburg, Shanghai, Singapore, and Long Beach in the United States, and became the only port to win first place in two categories at this awards ceremony, becoming the ‘most awarded institution.’ It has established itself as the best port recognized by international organizations in both the ‘Environment’ and ‘Safety’ fields.

In the environmental preservation category, it received the highest award in recognition of its systematic approach to resource recycling, including collecting marine plastic waste and turning it into products.

In particular, while plastics discharged from ships are usually incinerated or landfilled mixed with general waste, Yeosu Gwangyang Port was highly evaluated for establishing the country’s first complete circular economy system for marine waste plastics, producing items such as bags and safety vests.

Additionally, Yeosu Gwangyang Port was selected as the best port in the port safety category for opening and operating a ‘Port Health Management Office’ to improve the safety and health of port workers and for achieving a ‘zero-accident safe port.’

Following its triple crown achievement in Korea’s three major safety evaluations?Safety Korea Training, Safety Management Grading System, and Disaster Management Assessment?YGPA has once again been recognized as a safe port by the world’s largest international organization in the shipping and port sector.

President Park Seong-hyun, while on the award stage twice at the IAPH General Assembly ceremony in Abu Dhabi, UAE, attended by port authorities from around the world, representatives of the shipping and port industry, and the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), expressed his gratitude: “I sincerely thank the many local residents and citizens who love Yeosu Gwangyang Port for their votes, and I also thank Minister Cho Seung-hwan of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and all the staff who provided administrative support to enable us to receive such a prestigious international award.”

He added, “This award will bring enormous global publicity effects that cannot be measured in money, as well as tremendous positive ripple effects in the shipping and logistics industry, including shipping companies and cargo owners worldwide. The four management philosophies that I have continuously pursued since taking office as the port authority president, especially the effect of co-prosperity with the local community, are reflected in this result. I sincerely thank our staff once again for proving that Yeosu Gwangyang Port has a high level of competitiveness that can win even when competing globally.”

Meanwhile, the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) is the world’s largest international organization of port stakeholders, established in 1955 to promote cooperation and development among ports worldwide. It has over 350 members from 90 countries working together for the development of global ports.

This year’s IAPH Sustainability Awards saw 150 global ports apply, showing a high competition rate of about 25 to 1, and Yeosu Gwangyang Port was honored as the only port in the world to be selected as the best port in two categories.

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