Busan Port Authority (BPA) recognises the importance of small container ships serving intra-Asia trade in helping Busan Port to be more competitive.
At a seminar recently organised by BPA and the Korea Shipowners Association (KSA) in Busan, approximately 100 representatives from shipping companies, terminal operators, related research institutes, and organisations gathered.
The seminar was held to discuss the role of small container ships serving intra-Asia trade that accounts for 4.36 million teu, or 22% of the 18.7 million teu handled last year by Busan Port, northeast Asia’s busiest transhipment port. Participants talked about how this trend can carry on in the future.
Intra-Asia trade is flourishing, despite slower growth in east-west trades, due to mounting affluence and consumer demand throughout Asia.
Korea Maritime Institute researcher Kim Geun-sup advised strengthening Busan Port’s competitiveness as a transhipment hub by targeting shipping companies plying the intra-Asia trade, while KSA managing director Kim Young-Moo suggested ways that Korean shipping companies serving intra-Asia trade could become more competitive.
BPA operations director Park Chung-sik said, “We want to expand co-operation with shipping companies operating in intra-Asia trades for development.”
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
