Poor Korea China Maritime Council…

After the Korea China Maritime Council, container trades opening in the main Korea China Car Ferry trade such as Inchon/Weihai and Inchon/Tiajin have been delayed once more under anticipation of opposition from shippers and civil groups in the metropolitan Seoul area.
The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MOMAF) said on September 12 that two container trades, Inchon/Shanghai and Inchon/Qingdao, will begin next year. The Korea China Maritime Council was held by the Pusan regional MOMAF office for two days, September 10 and 11.
However, it failed to open container trades bound for Weihai and Tianjin, the most-demanded trades from shippers, causing dissatisfaction with the original plan to correct distorted logistic flow in metropolitan Seoul.
The Weihai trade is the largest container market in China, carrying 49,168 TEU last year out of 162,558 TEU in 7 car-ferry trades connecting Inchon with various Chinese ports.
The Weihai Korean Commercial Committee petitioned the National Assembly to launch the container trade in the area but was denied.
The Inchon/Shanghai trade was permitted to open, but was not so much in demand as the ‘Shiangpouh’ has been operating a weekly schedule in the trade from last March after the ‘Aurafula’ was suspended from the trade.
Qingdao also has a container service with a twice-weekly schedule: Pyoungtaek/Qingdao. That service began last year. With so much uncertainty, which company will operate in the trade is anyone’s guess.
Mr. Kim, managing director of the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice, Inchon division, said that this Korea China Maritime Council will artificially stifle container increases in the Port of Inchon and container trades in other trades, such as Weihai, will have to be launched as soon as possible.