Inchon / Nampo regular service resumes after five months

Regular weekly service between Inchon and Nampo resumed after five months of inactivity.

As Inchon Regional Maritime Affairs and Fisheries accepted Kookyang Shipping's application to begin offering regular services. The 'Minusinsk' (2,360 tons), sailing under a Russian flag, left for Nampo on the morning of April 22. The vessel carried 98 TEU cargoes, including home electronics and garments, and is scheduled to enter Nampo on April 23 and return to Inchon on April 30.

A total of 7 vessels, including the regularly sailing vessel 'Minusinsk' and six irregularly sailing ones, will be deployed in this trade. Kookyang Shipping revealed that it will replace the current vessels with new ones, making it possible to transport refrigerated containers sometime during the end of April or beginning of May.

In this trade, the 3,000-ton 'Sonya' operated by Hansung Shipping was refused entry to North Korea last December and the 'Lousiane' from Ramses Logistics was prohibited from operating by the Ministry of Unification on the grounds that it violated approval conditions. An official at Inchon Regional Maritime Affairs and Fisheries said that the trade route has suffered from unstable transportation between North Korea and South Korea and that this reopening would be helpful to shippers involved in Inter-Korean Business.