Current status and overview of geographical conditions

Situated at the southeastern tip of the Korean peninsula, Busan Port (north latitude 35° 04′ 42", east longitude 129° 01′ 01"), serves as a major gateway connecting the Pacific Ocean and Eurasian continents. It is the primary port in Korea and the world's 5th largest container port (as of 2012). Busan Port benefits from optimal conditions that make it a world-class port, such as the shelter provided by surrounding mountains and islets, its relatively narrow tidal range and its ideal location adjacent to 3 major arterial sea routes.

Port facilities: capacity & development progress

Busan Port was opened in 1407 as Busan-po. Since the initial construction of a wharf in 1906, the port has gone through continuous development. It has now been transformed into a modern port with an international passenger ferry terminal and 6 container terminals at 4 locations: Buk-hang (the North Port), Nam-hang (the South Port), Gamcheon-hang (Gamcheon Port) and Dadaepo-hang (Dadaepo Port)

Busan Port currently has 27.4 kilometers of quay walls which can accommodate up to 184 vessels, and loading and unloading capacity for over 14.99 million tons of cargo each year. As the volume of the cargo containers passing through Busan Port steadily increases each year, the city is now working on a project to build Busan New Port, capable of berthing a total of 45 vessels (40 container berths and 5 multi-purpose berths) simultaneously and an annual handling capacity of 23million TEU. The city plans to complete the Busan New Port by 2020. Busan New Port now has a total of 22 berths.

Busan New Port Construction Project

Bird's-eye view of Busan New Port

Current Status of Container Piers in Busan

Port facilities

	Jaseongdae	Shinseondae	Gamman	Shin-Gamman	Uam dock
Total space (1,000㎡)	624	1,168	727	294	182
CY space (1,000㎡)	462	672	336	153	156
Quay wall length (m)	1,447	1,500	1,400	826	500
Berthing capacity	50,000ton × 4 10,000ton × 1	50,000ton ×5	50,000ton × 4	50,000ton × 2 5,000ton × 1	20,000ton ×1 5,000ton × 2
Cargo-working capacity (1,000TEU)	1,700	2,000	1,560	780	300
Front Depth of Water (m)	15	15~16	15	15	11
Year Opened	1978.9	1991.6	1998.4	2002.4	1996.9
Managing company	Korea Huchson Terminal Co., Ltd.	KBCT	BICT, BGCT	Dongbu Busan Co., Ltd.	Uam Terminal Co., Ltd.

Port facilities

	Busan New Port (Phase 1)	Busan New Port (Phase 2-1)	Busan New Port (Phase 2-2)	Busan New Port (Phase 2-3)
Total space (1,000㎡)	1,286	688	553	785
CY space (1,000㎡)	384	346	213	145
Quay wall length (m)	3,200	1,100	1,150	1,400
Berthing capacity	50,000ton × 9	50,000ton × 2 20,000ton × 2	50,000ton × 2 20,000ton × 2	50,000ton × 4
Cargo-working capacity (1,000TEU)	4,110	1,600	1,600	1,920
Front Depth of Water (m)	16	16	17	17
Year Opened	2006.1	2009.2	2010.2	2012.1
Managing company	PNIT, PNC	Hanjin Shipping Co., Ltd.	Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., Ltd.	BNCT Inc.

Busan port container throughput statistics

Busan port container throughput statistics

Section	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Import	3,427	3,753	3,853	3,267	3,913	4,403	4,382
Export	3,375	3,690	3,785	3,302	3,922	4,305	4,426
Transshipment	5,209	5,808	5,786	5,372	6,266	7,353	8,125
Coastal	28	7	7	39	82	124	90
Total	12,039	13,261	13,453	11,980	14,183	16,185	17,023
Increase rate	1.7%	10.2%	1.4%	10.9%	18.4%	14.1%	5.2%
Transshipment rate	43.3%	43.8%	43.2%	44.8%	44.2%	45.4%	47.7%

Container Throughput of Other Major World Ports

Major world ports container throughput

Rank	Port Name	In 2012	In 2011	% increase from 2011
1	Shanghai	32,584	31,700	2.8
2	Singapore	31,649	29,938	5.7
3	Hong Kong	23,135	24,384	△5.1
4	Shenzhen	22,793	22,570	1.0
5	Busan	17,023	16,185	5.2
6	Ningbo	16,681	14,686	13.6
7	Qingdao	14,508	13,020	11.4
8	Guangzhou	13,305	14,400	△7.6
9	Tianjin	12,295	11,500	6.9
10	Kaohsiung	9,782	9,636	1.5

※ The rankings are based on the data collected from the website of the major world port authorities.
(Singapore and Chinese ports are estimated figures so they can be changeable.)
※ Dubai and Rotterdam port container throughput statistics have not been officially announced.
(As of 2011, Dubai ranked No. 9 and Rotterdam ranked No. 10)