Seoul: South Korea's oceans ministry has recently commissioned a research project aimed at devising strategies to promote the use of a possible Arctic shipping route able to handle traffic in 2030, sources said Sunday. The project seeks to assess the commercial viability of such a route, including a survey on shipping companies and logistics firms regarding using such a route, the sources said.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the project's objectives include developing plans to establish a logistics network linked to ports in Northern Europe. Arctic shipping routes are maritime paths through the Arctic Ocean that connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. For South Korea, these routes can potentially reduce the distance between the country and Europe by around 35 percent compared to the conventional Suez Canal route.

The routes have gained attention as a major alternative waterway after climate changes raised hopes for future transits through the Arctic Ocean. Additionally, ongoing tensions in the Middle East, affecting shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, are further generating interest in these routes.

China has shown significant interest in the Arctic route and operated vessels within the waterway 29 times last year. The Seoul government is also planning a full-scale entry into the route, starting with a pilot operation later this month. The round-trip voyage between the southern port city of Busan and Amsterdam in the Netherlands is expected to take around 40 to 45 days.

The government plans to open a regular service route in 2030 and start operating large-scale container ships around 2035.