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SOUTH KOREA: South Korea was set Saturday to send its first trial container through the Arctic, as the Middle East war rattles global shipping, while environmental groups warned the route could accelerate polar ice melt.<\/strong><\/p>\n The Middle East conflict, sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February, has roiled global shipping, sending governments and shipping firms scrambling to seek alternative routes.<\/p>\n Sailing from Busan New Port, the container ship \u2014 the \u201cPanStar Acro\u201d \u2014 will sail to Europe via the Arctic, testing whether a route opened by melting sea ice can be commercially viable.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ship will depart at 8 pm (1100 GMT) today unless there are unforeseen circumstances, such as bad weather,\u201d an oceans ministry official told AFP on Saturday.<\/p>\n The ship will leave for Felixstowe in Britain, Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Gdansk in Poland before returning, with the voyage expected to take about 45 days, according to the ministry.<\/p>\n The voyage follows that of the Chinese container ship \u201cDubai Tower\u201d, which left the eastern port city of Ningbo for Europe this month, heading north through the Bering Strait before turning west along Russia\u2019s Arctic coast.<\/p>\n The usual maritime route between Asia and Europe runs through the Suez Canal, but travelling through the Arctic can cut the journey by around 7,000 kilometres (4,300 miles) and about 10 days, according to the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy.<\/p>\n South Korea\u2019s Vice Oceans Minister Nam Jae-hon said the Arctic route was \u201cbound to become an alternative\u201d to Middle Eastern shipping lanes \u2014 as geopolitical risks and technological advances make it increasingly competitive.<\/p>\n Marc Lanteigne, a political science professor at the Arctic University of Norway, said the voyage \u2014 coming soon after China\u2019s \u201cDubai Tower\u201d began its own Arctic journey \u2014 showed the Northern Sea Route (NSR) was becoming normalised as a \u201csecondary maritime transit corridor\u201d.<\/p>\n A successful voyage would demonstrate South Korea\u2019s interest in \u201cdeveloping alternative shipping sea lanes\u201d, he told AFP, with concerns that it could fall behind as Chinese firms expand regular services through the increasingly viable Arctic route.<\/p>\n Some experts warn South Korean ships using the Arctic route could risk breaching Western sanctions on Russia \u2014 currently a key security ally of North Korea \u2014 as they would receive Russian navigation and weather services involving payments, albeit small ones.<\/p>\n South Korea\u2019s foreign ministry declined to comment when asked by AFP about the concerns involving Russia.<\/p>\n The oceans ministry said this week that \u201cconsultations with key relevant countries and agencies\u201d have been completed to \u201cimplement administrative procedures necessary\u201d for the voyage.<\/p>\n Vladimir Tikhonov, Korean Studies professor at the University of Oslo, said \u201d US and EU sanctions are not international law, unlike UN sanctions\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd with continued uncertainty in the Middle East \u2014 itself driven in part by US actions \u2014 South Korea may have few alternatives if the Arctic route proves economically viable,\u201d he told AFP.<\/p>\n Major carriers including CMA CGM, MSC and Hapag-Lloyd have pledged to avoid Arctic shipping routes.<\/p>\n The NSR is believed to be accessible only during the time of year when the ice is melted enough to allow transits without icebreakers.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Northern Sea Route has become increasingly viable as the Arctic warms about four times faster than the global average, leading to a sharp decline in sea ice,\u201d South Korean environmental group Paran Ocean Citizen Science Center said in a statement last year.<\/p>\n \u201cBut making the route commercially viable would require further warming, putting the policy at odds with efforts to combat climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n