4 July (Lloyd's List) - SOUTH Korea aims to launch the world’s first transpacific green shipping route by 2027, using methanol-powered merchant vessels.
The trade lane will link the ports of Busan and Ulsan to Seattle and Tacoma in the US, featuring containerships and car carriers capable of running the alternative fuel, according to a statement by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.
The move comes after the two countries agreed to work together to create a green shipping corridor at the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) in 2022. Since then, a pre-feasibility study has been conducted to select these preliminary routes.
The ministry said it would draw up a detailed roadmap for the routes this year by executing a technical, institutional and economic feasibility study.
From 2025, research and development projects on biofuel supply technologies will be carried out, and a joint public-private demonstration to operate the routes will be organised before the corridor’s launch in 2027.
“If a zero-emission containership travelled the green shipping corridor between the port of Busan and the port of Seattle for one year, it would reduce carbon emissions equivalent to the annual emissions of approximately 32,000 cars,” the ministry said.
It will come as little surprise if the country’s national carrier, HMM, becomes a main participant in the project.
The company has nine 9,000 teu methanol dual-fuel boxships on order due for delivery next year. In addition, its orderbook also contains seven pure car and truck carriers ranging from 8,600 ceu to 10,800 ceu in size that are able to burn LNG as fuel, according to Clarksons’ data.
What is more, HMM’s compatriot shipbuilders are expected to benefit from the green shipping routes, as they compete intensely with their Chinese rivals for orders of lower-emission vessels in response to stricter emission regulations from the International Maritime Organization.
“In South Korea, more than 78% of the ships ordered at domestic shipyards are environment-friendly vessels,” said the ministry.
It added that the initiative would be expanded to include Australia, which is promoting the establishment of a supply chain for the clean hydrogen and ammonia market. South Korea would announce an official co-operation plan with Australia this year and start joint research from next year.
A “mega green shipping route” linking South Korea, Singapore and Europe is also being created to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries next year.
