South Korean Carrier Bets on 20-Day Arctic Route to Europe

By Hyunbin Kim (Bloomberg) — South Korea’s PanStar Group plans to expand Arctic container voyages from next year after completing a trial run to Europe in about 20 days, betting that a seasonal service focused on high-value cargo can compete with larger Chinese operators.

The Northern Sea Route along Russia’s Arctic coast offers a much shorter passage from Asia to Europe than sailing through the Suez Canal. Long used to transport Russian energy, the waterway is drawing interest from container shippers due to a warming climate and fears over disruptions to traditional shipping lanes. Still, unpredictable ice conditions and a limited sailing season have prevented it from emerging as a mainstream alternative to existing routes.

PanStar is considering up to three voyages next year before gradually increasing frequency, Chairman Kim Hyun-kyum said in a recent interview in Busan. The carrier will focus on the window from July through October, when Arctic waters are more navigable and Europe-bound cargo demand is seasonally strong.

China poses the biggest challenge. The country’s shippers began trial voyages on the Northern Sea Route last year and are moving toward commercial services, while many of their container ships are being built with ice-class capabilities, according to Kim.

“Right now, China is really the only competitor,” Kim said. “China moves extremely fast once it decides to enter a market.”

Rather than compete with major carriers on scale, PanStar plans to use vessels of around 3,000 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU) or smaller, focused on time-sensitive and higher-value cargoes from Korea and Japan. Over time, Kim said PanStar could work with Korean and Japanese carriers to increase sailing frequency and better compete with China.

For the company’s trial voyage, the 2,758-TEU PanStar Acro left Busan on Aug. 22 and reached Felixstowe in the UK on Sept. 12, before sailing on to Rotterdam and Gdansk. The journey took about a third of the time required on the Suez route, if the usual port stops are included, said Kim.

PanStar is targeting consignments where speed matters but air freight is too expensive, which include temperature-sensitive chemicals, shipbuilding equipment and heavy wind-turbine components. For the trial, the PanStar Acro carried 20-ton industrial rings, which typically attract freight rates two to five times higher than standard, according to Kim.

“The Northern Sea Route is unlikely to replace the Suez Canal anytime soon, but I think it could serve as a supplementary route,” said Hwang Jinhoi, a senior research fellow at the Korea Maritime Institute. “For container shipping, time-sensitive cargo that can fill a vessel from the outset and be shipped directly and quickly would be a natural fit.”

Piston Voyage

PanStar’s strategy is to make what Kim calls a “piston voyage” — a fast, point-to-point service designed to avoid the multiple stops made by conventional carriers.

“If we tell shippers 20 days, we arrive in 20 days,” Kim said.

Still, the trial wasn’t trouble-free. Dense ice forced the vessel to make a detour of about 350 kilometers (218 miles), while extremely cold seawater posed a challenge for the ship’s engines.

Costs are another hurdle. Kim said fuel prices rose almost 40% in the three months before departure — a consequence of wars in Ukraine and the Middle East — which means the inaugural voyage is likely to have posted a loss.

The PanStar Acro hauled about 700 containers, much fewer than the 1,500 or so it can usually carry. Securing return freight would also improve the economics, and the company has approached Korean companies in Europe for cargoes that are often shipped by air when delivery times are tight, including automotive components and machinery.

PanStar is also considering using smaller, faster vessels in the future to reduce fuel consumption. Kim said data collected during the trial will help the company determine what’s best for regular Arctic transits.

© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.

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