Container shipping companies in South Korea should widen their horizons beyond just shipping in order to capitalise on opportunities created by new technologies, said Yoo Ki-june, minister of oceans and fisheries.
The minister, who has stated that emerging industries will be the growth engine of the country’s economy said, “New technologies have enabled new ways of purchasing, such as overseas direct purchasing. [South] Korean companies should become more adaptable and move from offering port-to-port services to door-to-door.”
Speaking to IHS Maritime during the Danish Maritime Forum in Copenhagen on 7 October, the minister said opportunities provided by logistics is in the focus of the government in other ways too.
The Port of Busan, which currently handles about 24 million teu of cargo per year, is targeting a figure of 30 million teu in 2020. “We want to accelerate efforts to upgrade terminals and infrastructure at the port,” he stated. The aim is to further enhance the appeal of Busan as a logistics hub in northern Asia and to attract more business to the port, in particular from China and Japan.
Earlier that day, the minister had stated in a speech at the forum that South Korea also looks at the possibilities offered by Arctic sea routes, which are becoming open for shipping for longer parts of the year than before.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.