South Korea, Norway to Expand Arctic Cooperation

South Korea and Norway are stepping up their efforts in the joint development of a new shipping route in the Arctic.

The two countries intend to hold talks on bilateral cooperation in the Arctic on Tuesday in Oslo, as announced by the South Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

The new shipping route could shorten the voyage distance from South Korea to northern European countries by up to 7,000 kilometers from the conventional 22,000-kilometer journey through the Indian Ocean, South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted the ministry as saying.

The focus of the talks will be cooperation in the cruise industry and ensuring safety of cruise ships when operating in the region by information exchange, along with the countries’ effort to develop shipping and cruise industry, Yonhap reports.

“It is expected that the process of fulfilling joint projects on promoting the use of the Arctic sea routes will be assessed and the ways of improving them will be discussed,” the ministry added.

The South Korean Ministry said that it had already launched cooperation with Russia within efforts to develop a new shipping route through the polar region and is now aiming to boost cooperation with Norway in line with their MoU signed in 2012.

The cooperation with Russia has resulted in South Korean’s first delivery of cargo to the south of the Korean Peninsula by transiting the Northern Sea Route.

World Maritime News Staff