The Panstar Arco container ship successfully completed the first phase of its trial voyage in the Northern Sea route and arrived in Britain and Rotterdam. The ship is now in Rotterdam and preparing for its return. This voyage was designed to showcase opportunities and collect vital data about the challenges of crossing the Arctic.
Voyage Details
The journey from Busan in South Korea to Felixstowe in Britain took 21 days and to Rotterdam 22 days. The ship has moved slightly behind the scheduled plan, but reports indicate that no major issues arose during the voyage. The ship left Busan on August 22 and entered the Arctic on August 31. It cleared the western route on September 9. The total distance traveled from Busan to Rotterdam was approximately 13,000 kilometers (about 8,100 miles), which is less than the usual distance of 20,000 kilometers (12,500 miles) through the Suez Canal to Europe.
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Loading and Crew
The ship, with a capacity of 45,500 tons, carried 737 TEU of cargo including chemicals, used cars, and auto parts. Reports indicate that between 100 to 200 TEU were also loaded empty. The ship has a capacity of 2,758 TEU, and the goal of this voyage was to load at least 1,300 TEU. Government officials stated that the lack of cargo was due to the short reservation time and uncertainty regarding the first voyage.
On this voyage, there were 20 crew members including a Korean captain, a chief engineer, and other key engineering officers. The first officer was a navigation officer from the Korean icebreaker Araon, who has extensive experience in polar navigation. Additionally, Jae-Gun Kwan, head of shipbuilding and maritime business at Panstar, was also present on this voyage.
The ship had to stop overnight due to floating ice near Wrangel Island in the Chukchi Sea. Strong winds and strong currents caused the ship's speed to decrease and required evasive maneuvers to avoid collisions with ice pieces near the Vikitsky Strait.
The Panstar Arco arrived in Felixstowe on September 12 and in Rotterdam on September 13. The ship is scheduled to unload cargo in Rotterdam and travel to Gdynia in Poland, where its arrival is expected on September 16. It is anticipated that this ship will load additional cargo before beginning its return journey. The return of this ship to Busan is scheduled for October 12.
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