South Korea sending first container ship through Arctic route

The PanStar Acro, bound for Europe via the Arctic, is testing whether a route opened by melting sea ice can be commercially viable.A South ‌Korean container ship is sailing to Europe via the Arctic, ⁠in the nation’s first commercial voyage on the route to test its viability as the war in the Middle East rattles global shipping.The PanStar Acro set sail from Busan New Port on Saturday. “We would like to inform you that the vessel for the Arctic route trial voyage departed” at 9:30pm (12:30 GMT), Seoul’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said in a statement to the AFP news agency.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4South Korea footballers urge safety after extreme heat statisticslist 2 of 4Putin warns of tit-for-tat seizures of European vesselslist 3 of 4Activists’ bid to sue Russia over climate change gets off to shaky startlist 4 of 4Can China’s new Arctic sea route to Europe replace Middle East chokepoints?end of listThe PanStar Acro will sail north, the Reuters news agency reported, hugging eastern Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, then cross the Bering Sea, and ⁠take the Northern Sea Route, stopping in Felixstowe in the UK, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and Poland’s Gdansk before returning.The 2,758 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) container ship operated by South Korea’s PanStar ‌has secured 837 TEU of cargo, including car parts, chemical products and about 100 empty containers on the government-backed voyage.The journey is expected to take 40 to 45 days, according to the Oceans Ministry.President Lee Jae Myung has made Arctic shipping ‌a priority for South Korea, with the hope of turning the southeastern ⁠port of Busan into a global maritime hub and position the Arctic as a regular trade route by 2030.But this new route has been criticised for several different reasons. Environmental groups have warned the route could accelerate polar ice melt, meaning the increase in shipping could worsen global warming.The project also risks increasing friction with Western allies hoping to keep Russia isolated in its war with Ukraine. Seoul has consulted with Moscow about the journey, Reuters reported, including whether the ship needed ⁠help to tackle any problems, such as ⁠getting stuck in ice.