South Korea/ China Trade, coming into a New Era

Cross vessels are going to be allowed in the South Korea / China rout
e. The 8th Korea-China Maritime Council held from June 19 to the 24th,
attracted the attention of related industries, proceeding to the u
nexpected marathon meeting.
This 6-day long meeting, scheduled at first for just 2-days, assemble
d in Seoul and Cheju to solve pressing issues, including cross vessels
participating in the South Korea /China trade, the opening of a new c
ar-ferry service, adding vessels into the existing car ferry service a
nd fitting into containterships into the supply of vessels.
At first, it was rather difficult to reach an agreement. As the meeti
ng got longer, related industries called the MOMAF and press, hoping t
o discover the likely outcome of the meeting.
Finally, it was decided to allow the cross vessels to take part in th
e Korea - China route. This decision will provide shippers with a wide
r rage of options and it is anticipated that it will contaminate the f
reight rates markets with most shipping companies participating in thi
s market.
To resolve this matter, a strong shipping companies' council is expec
ted to cooperate and control rates, as the Korea nearsea freight coper
ation, a council consisting of Korean shipping lines operating in the
Korea-Japan trade, already does.
Secondly, another hot issue was the openings of the new car ferry tra
de and the addition of vessels to existing routes. Adding more vessels
to the Incheon / Weihai service trade will be discussed, taking into
consideration the port facilities in Incheon. The meeting resulted in
an agreement to open Pyoungtaek/Youngsung car-ferry trade. It will be
dependent on the state of the port facilities in Pyoungtaek. Vessels a
re tentatively scheduled to be deployed in June 2001.