Ulsan Signs Arctic Route Agreement With Wagenborg and Korean Agency
Up to four Northern Sea Route vessels expected to bunker and discharge at the port this year
Ulsan is preparing for the commercialisation of the Arctic route through cooperation with international shipping companies, with up to four vessels transiting the route expected to call at the port this year to take bunkers and discharge cargo.
Ulsan Port Authority has signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding with Dutch shipping company Royal Wagenborg and the Korea Maritime Promotion Corporation to promote use of the Arctic route. The agreement aims to develop Ulsan as a hub for the route, in line with the Korean government's national agenda of establishing the country as a leading maritime power in the era of the Arctic route, and to diversify maritime logistics networks between Korea and North America.
Wagenborg brings the operating record to the arrangement. As of 2025 the company had completed 48 commercial cargo transports along the Northern Sea Route, the highest number of any operator worldwide.
The three organisations will work to increase the number of Arctic route vessels calling at Ulsan and to expand the supply of environmentally friendly fuels at the port. They have agreed to share information and experience on Arctic operations, and to support development of a domestic Arctic route operations manual and the accumulation of navigation expertise. They will also jointly identify potential cargo demand between Korea and North America, explore ways to connect that demand with actual Arctic route operations, and collaborate on securing ice-class vessels suitable for Arctic navigation.
The ice-class question is the practical constraint. Korea has the shipbuilding capacity to construct ice-class tonnage but limited operating experience with it, which is what the exchange of navigation expertise with a Dutch operator is intended to address.
Among Korean ports, Ulsan has relatively extensive experience with Arctic route traffic. Over the past ten years there have been 18 Arctic route vessel calls at the port, the most in the country, comprising five via the Northeast Passage and 13 via the Northern Sea Route.
Byeon Jaeyoung, president of Ulsan Port Authority, said the agreement would provide a practical foundation for implementing the government's Arctic route policy, and would contribute to strengthening the Korean shipping industry's capabilities in Arctic navigation and to enhancing port competitiveness.
