South Korea will send the 2,758-TEU PanStar Arco through the Arctic Northeast Passage on Saturday, marking the country’s first trial of the route with a container ship carrying general commercial cargo. The vessel is expected to transport about 737 TEU of chemical products, used cars and auto parts, plus 100 empty containers, and call at Felixstowe, Rotterdam and Gdansk before returning to Busan after about 45 days. The voyage will assess the route’s technical, environmental and commercial viability as melting Arctic sea ice widens shipping lanes. Research cited by the report indicates that a Busan-Rotterdam voyage via the Northeast Passage can cut distance by up to 40%, transit time by more than 10 days and summer costs by about 22% compared with the Suez Canal route. South Korea is also pursuing cooperation on the Northwest Passage through a memorandum involving the Ulsan Port Authority, Korea Ocean Business Corporation and a Dutch shipping company experienced in polar navigation.