On Monday, China-flagged container vessel Mingyue became the first ship to enter Incheon New Port to berth at Sunkwang New Container Terminal (SNCT), according to Incheon Port Authority (IPA).
Incheon New Port, located at the southwestern part of Song-Do International district, boosts 1.6 km linear length of quay with 8,000 teu capacity.
IPA said that the largest vessel that the port will welcome will be the 6,800 teu Hyundai-Tokyo boxship scheduled to arrive on 7 June.
The Hyundai-Tokyo is operated in associated with CC1 (Central China 1) route of the G6 alliance, and it will provide a weekly service within CC1 route that calls at Los Angeles, Oakland, Qingdao and Shanghai ports.
“Until now, Incheon port had merely played a role as the gateway of Seoul metropolitan district. However, with the launch of Incheon New Port, it is expected that Incheon port will become a global hub-port that connects China and the US,” IPA commented.
The port authority added that sailing route is 4 km shorter when using Incheon New Port compared to using the existing container terminals at Inner Port or South Port.
“Thus using Incheon New Port is economically efficient in terms of time and cost and therefore has potential to attract shippers and shipping lines,” IPA said.
Yoo Chang-Keun, president of IPA, told Seatrade Maritime News earlier that IPA has set a target for Incheon port to handle 2.6m teu of throughput this year, an increase of 11.4% over last year's volume.
Looking ahead, Incheon New Port will expand its draft depth to 16 metres from the current 14 metres so as to accommodate 13,000 teu containerships by 2017.
There will also be an Incheon New Passenger Terminal to accommodate 150,000 dwt cruise ships by 2017, including the development of multi-functional resort complex comprising of shopping mall, entertainment center and resort.
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