S Korea to send first container ship thru Arctic route

BUSAN NEW PORT, Aug 22: South Korea was set Saturday to send its first trial container through the Arctic, as the Middle East war rattles global shipping, while environmental groups warned the route could accelerate polar ice melt.

The Middle East conflict, sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February, has roiled global shipping, sending governments and shipping firms scrambling to seek alternative routes.

Sailing from Busan New Port, the container ship -- the "PanStarAcro" -- will sail to Europe via the Arctic, testing whether a route opened by melting sea ice can be commercially viable.

"The ship will depart at 8 pm (1100 GMT) today unless there are unforeseen circumstances, such as bad weather," an oceans ministry official told AFP on Saturday.

The ship will leave for Felixstowe in Britain, Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Gdansk in Poland before returning, with the voyage expected to take about 45 days, according to the ministry.

The voyage follows that of the Chinese container ship "Dubai Tower", which left the eastern port city of Ningbo for Europe this month, heading north through the Bering Strait before turning west along Russia's Arctic coast.

The usual maritime route between Asia and Europe runs through the Suez Canal, but travelling through the Arctic can cut the journey by around 7,000 kilometres (4,300 miles) and about 10 days, according to the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy.

South Korea's Vice Oceans Minister Nam Jae-hon said the Arctic route was "bound to become an alternative" to Middle Eastern shipping lanes -- as geopolitical risks and technological advances make it increasingly competitive.�"AFP