Welcoming ceremony for the return of the Northern Sea Route pilot operation... President Lee gives flower necklaces to sailors (comprehensive)

(Busan = Yonhap News) Reporter Youngjae Lee = An event was held in Busan on the 13th to celebrate the safe return of the Panstar Acro, the first domestic container ship to embark on a trial run on the Northern Sea Route.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries held a ‘North Pole Route pilot operation welcome event’ at the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology in Yeongdo-gu, Busan this afternoon.

About 200 people attended the event, including President Lee Jae-myung, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Hwang Jong-woo, Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo, heads of public institutions related to shipping and logistics, Panstar Acro shipping company officials, crew members and their families.

The Panstar Acro, which departed from Busan Port on August 22 and embarked on a trial run on the Northern Sea Route, passed through the Arctic Ocean and called at Felixstowe, England, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Gdansk, Poland, then passed through the Arctic Ocean again and entered Busan on the 11th.

It was a round-trip sailing along the Northern Sea Route in 50 days. This is the first time that a domestic container ship has traveled back and forth between Korea and Europe using the Northern Sea Route.

The Northern Sea Route includes the Northeast Passage, which runs from Europe through northern Russia to the Pacific Ocean, and the Northwest Passage, which runs through northern North America to the Pacific Ocean. The Panstar Acro sailed the Northeast route this time.

President Lee went on stage and personally placed flower necklaces on five of the 20 crew members of the Panstar Acro, including Captain Seo Myeong-won, and took a commemorative photo. Among them were sailors from Indonesia.

President Lee also personally awarded appreciation plaques to those who contributed to the preparation process for this pilot operation.

A video showing the Northern Sea Route navigation process was also released. On August 31st, ten days after departing from Busan, the tense moment of encountering a huge drift ice in the Arctic Ocean and having to divert the route was included, as well as the moment of finally arriving in Europe.

In a progress report, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Hwang Jong-woo emphasized, "Our country had no experience sailing to the polar region with a container ship. Nevertheless, considering our geographical conditions as the starting and ending point of the Northern Sea Route, taking on the challenge of the Northern Sea Route was a mission of the times."

Minister Hwang cited the following as the achievements of this pilot operation: ▲ Confirmation of stable passage without icebreakers in the Arctic Ocean in the summer ▲ Reduction of the operation distance by 35% and 10 days of travel time ▲ Confirmation of cargo demand on the Northern Sea Route ▲ Demonstration of a safe operation management system through 24-hour vessel monitoring.

He added, "Based on this achievement, we will expand operations to container ships and car carriers in next year's pilot operation," and added, "Next year, we will also review the possibility of a Northwest Passage between Asia and North America."