An island off Busan, South Korea will be demolished to make it easier for ships to call at Northeast Asia’s biggest transshipment hub.
The island, called Tohdo, is situated at the entrance of Busan New Port. Due to its location, Tohdo has been regarded as an obstacle for vessels especially ultra-large container ships of more than 18,000TEUs when they enter and depart the port.
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries therefore plans to remove the island with a budget of approximately KRW400 billion (USD357 million) between 2016 to 2019.
“The plan aims to cope with the latest shipping environment such as handling ultra-large container ships and to provide a high value-added port service. With these innovations, Busan New Port will be the world’s leading port,” an MOF statement read.
As well as the removal of the island, the plans also include creating a large ship repair site complex for ships more than 30,000 tonnes, and building a freight bypass line that will be connected to the container terminal.
The plan is part of Busan’s aim of consolidating its position by embarking on further development.
On 29 April that it will get an additional 15 berths to increase its annual container handling capacity by 15.8 million teu, Busan New Port announced.
The South Korean government will oversee the expansion, which will comprise container terminals, feeder terminals, and multipurpose terminals.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.