MOF to Enlarge Cruise Dock at Busan North Port by 2018

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) said on August 30 that it will start the construction to enlarge the Busan North Port to accommodate international cruise ships measuring up to 220,000 gross tonnages. The construction will be completed by August, 2018.

Busan Port currently has two docks exclusively for cruise ships: the Dongsam-dong dock for 80,000 gross tonnage ships and the North Port redevelopment area for 100,000 gross tonnage ships.

As cruise ships are globally getting larger in size, there is a growing need for expansion of facilities suitable for larger cruise ships so as to strengthen the competitiveness in the global cruise market.

The MOF plans to widen the Dongsam-dong dock to 40 meters from 30 meters and extend its length to 440 meters from 360 meters so that even 220,000 gross tonnage cruise ships can dock.