Shipping ■ the Role of Marine Transportation
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Shipping ■ The role of Marine Transportation This section shows tthe role of marine transportation and the world marine transportation routes, etc. ■ The Marine Transportation of Korea 1.The Amount of Trade and Tonnage (1) The Status of Marine Transportation in Korea Few people have any idea on how much Korean marine transportation industry developed in the past 20 years. Korea's gross tonnage occupies the ninth place in the world, and the quantity of transport by sea holds the 6th place in the world. Considering Korea's size of foreign trade amount or GNP, which is ranked as the 11th or 12th place in the world, the industry of marine transportation certainly possesses an importance status in Korean industry. Gross Tonnage Korea's gross tonnage was 19.5 million DWT (Deadweight Tonnage) at the end of 1994, taking the 9th place in the world, which shows the rapid growth of the Korean marine transportation industry from the 20th place 20 years ago. The revenue from freight charge that the national liners earned reached 6.6 billion dollars, which accounted for 29.3% of Korea's earnings on invisibles. The increase of demand on marine transport from the rapid industrial development and the government policy to expand the number of vessels used in overseas service led to rapid increase in Korea's gross tonnage. Container Transportation Capacity Due to the trend of transporting more general cargo in containers, the rate of using container ships is on the rise in international marine transportation. At the end of 1994, container ships of Korea shipped 174,000 TEU (Twenty Equivalent Unit), taking 4.2% of the total container shipping capacity of the world (4.1 million TEU) and the 6th place in the world. In the Pacific routes (between Asia and North America), Korea's shipping capacity by container ships is 131,000 TEU, taking the first place in the world, while in the European routes (between Asia and Europe), it takes the third place with the capacity of 58,000 TEU next to Japan and Denmark. Based on the transport capacity of the fleet of container ships, Korean shipping companies such as Hanjin, Hyundai, and Joyang have developed into world-class shipping companies, which provide the around-the-world routes and the pendulum service. Marine Mobilization The quantity of import and export cargoes of Korea transported by sea in 1994 was 354 million tons, taking 3.9% of the world total (9.12 billion tons) and the 6th place next to the U.S.A., Japan, the Netherlands, Australia, and Great Britain. Especially the quantity of goods transported by the container ships of Korean flags in 1994 was 3,212,000 TEU (based on the quantity of containers transported from Busan. The statistics of 1996 CIY), which took 3% of the world total of the container-transported goods (124,963,000 TEU), and Korea became the 10th nation in the quantity of container transportation capacity in the world. Employment of Seamen The seaman is one of the three elements in marine transportation with vessels and cargo. The number of Korean seamen employed at home and overseas was 68,000, taking the 6th place in the world, after China, the Philippines, Russia, Indonesia, and Turkey. Korean seamen were renowned for diligence and quality. In 1987, the number of Korean seamen employed overseas reached 42,000, and currently, Korean seamen working for overseas marine companies number 12,000. Container Handling Record of Busan Port The container throughput at Busan Port was 351,000 TEU in 1976, only the 14th place in the world, however, the throughput jumped to 3,212,000 TEU in 1994, becoming the 5th in the world. The rise in the quantity of containers handled at Busan Port, which handles over 90% of Korea's import and export container cargoes, was possible as the size of trade increased due to the rapid industrial development of Korea. The expanded facilities of Busan Port like the exclusive container terminals of Jaseongdae Wharf and Sinseondae Wharf as well as the optimized port management such as the efficient round-the-clock loading and unloading system helped Busan to become a major container handling port. Shipbuilding Capacity The development of shipbuilding techniques lies behind Korea's growth as the 9th country in the world in the tonnage. In 1994, Korea constructed 118 vessels of 4,086,000 tons, taking 21.5% of the total shipbuilding of the world (18,966,000 ton). Korea was the second next to Japan, and the quantity of shipbuilding order was 144 vessels of 5,733,000 tons, accounting for 21.9% of the total world shipbuilding order, next to Japan. Recently, Korea succeeded in building the LNG tank ship, which required advanced technology and cost more than 150 million dollars, and proved to possess the equal shipbuilding technology to Japan, France and Norway. 2.The History of Korea's Marine Transportation (1) Marine Transportation Marine transportation is a key industry which supports Korea's economy and national security. Marine transportation is the most important means of transporting the import and export cargoes of Korea, whose three sides are surrounded by sea: 99.7% of import and export cargoes is transported by sea. The freight income earned from marine transportation amounted 8.6 billion dollars in 1995, and contributed to improving the international balance of payments. As shown in the case of the Gulf War, marine transportation can serve as the fourth army, which transports strategic materials in case of emergency. The Change in Gross Tonnage Owing to the economy structure heavily relying on export, Korea developed into the 12th largest exporting country in the world, and 99.7% of its trade goods is transported by sea. The gross tonnage of Korea in 1975 was only 16 million tons, or 0.5% of the total world gross tonnage. However, the past 20 years saw the increase of 7.3 times in gross tonnage thanks to the policy of augmenting oceangoing vessels registered in Korea and the escalating demand of cargo transportation supported by the growing economy. By the end of 1995, the gross tonnage of Korea was 116 million tons, or 2.4% of the world tonnage. Korea was inducted into the marine transportation sector of OECD in 1995 and was elected as an executive country of IMO, playing a key role in world marine transportation. Gross Tonnage by the Category Compared with 1975, the registered passenger boats of Korea increased 5.1 times in 1995, while freight ships increased 9.2 times. Container ships showed the increase of 119.2 times and tankers, 3.1 times, and other types of vessels, 6.8 times. The number of container ships showed a remarkable increase, while tankers were slowly increasing in number. Container ships and freighters will continue to increase in number due to the rising demand on containers and the tendency of using a large- sized exclusive vessels in the future. But the international environment is not likely to help increase the number of tankers, for tankers require a double body and are being converted to more economic types of vessels. Oceangoing Vessels of Korea The registered tonnage of oceangoing vessels in Korea was 1,320,000 DWT in 1975, and most of them belonged to small- and medium-sized fleets commissioned in the Japan and Southeast Asian routes. The government's positive policy to increase registered oceangoing vessels led to the rapid rise of vessels to 3.8 times by the end of the 1970's. By the end of 1995, the registered tonnage was 10,570,000 DWT, increasing 8 times. The slow rise in tonnage since 1985 can be explained by the fact that old vessels were replaced with new ones and the qualitative improvement of vessels was emphasized. The registered oceangoing vessels are expected to increase slowly in the future. Coastal Vessels The gross tonnage of coastal vessels increased 5.1 times from 1975 to 1995, owing to the increase of cargoes and passengers and the popularity of the sea transportation as an alternative to land transportation. Coast liners are expected to increase in number and be modernized because the limited land transportation and the extended trade with North Korea will create more demand on sea transportation. Cargo Transportation by Sea The total quantity of cargo transported by sea increased 11.8% each year on the average from 1975, and in 1995 the total quantity reached 5,335 million tons, which showed the increase of 9.4 times. Among them, imported goods took 59%, and exported goods took 17%, while the coastal cargo took the rest 24%. For these 20 years, imported cargoes showed the increase of 9 times, while exported cargoes increased 8.8 times. The coastal cargo increased 10.9 times, and the cargoes transported to a third country by the Korean flag carriers showed a remarkable increase of 35 times from 33 million tons in 1975 to 1,155 million tons in 1995. This means the pattern of Korea's marine transportation is shifting to the pattern of advanced countries, which transport more cargoes of other countries than those of their own. Cargo Transportation by the Regions In 1975, Korea's transportation of import and export cargoes was limited to the regions of Japan, Southeast Asia and America. But the government policy to diversify the country of trade led to the different routes to various regions of the world, including Oceania, Central and South America, and Africa. Especially, the rapid economic development of China and Southeast Asian countries led to the steady rise in cargo transportation to these regions, and this trend is expected to continue in the future.