IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jotrge/v124y2025ics0966692325000742.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Key factors for non-polar use of the Northern Sea Route: A Korean point of view

Author

Listed:
  • Su, Zhenqing
  • Park, Keun-sik
  • Liu, Ziyang
  • Su, Miao

Abstract

Global warming has led to the accelerated melting of the Arctic ice, making the Northern Sea Route (NSR) an emerging maritime trade route connecting Asia and Europe. Many studies actively seek to capitalize on this new opportunity for shipping to promote the maritime industry's rapid development in various countries. However, few studies have applied a strategic systems perspective to examine the critical success factors that drive non-polar countries to use the NSR. This study integrates international relations theory, sustainable development theory, and resource base theory to establish a system of critical success factors that encourage non-polar countries to use the NSR, focusing on the Republic of Korea's shipping industry as an example. After reviewing the existing literature, we identified 20 key factors that influence the use of the NSR by the maritime industry of the Republic of Korea. We surveyed 16 maritime experts from different organizations in the Republic of Korea and used the Fuzzy-Decision Making Experiment and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) model to assess the interrelationships among these factors. A comprehensive analysis identifies international cooperation, compliance with international law, and participation in Arctic governance as the most critical success factors for the Republic of Korea in developing the NSR. This study expands the body of knowledge in NSR research. In addition, it provides a theoretical basis and practical guidance for shipping companies and government agencies in non-polar countries to develop key strategies for utilizing the NSR.

Suggested Citation

  • Su, Zhenqing & Park, Keun-sik & Liu, Ziyang & Su, Miao, 2025. "Key factors for non-polar use of the Northern Sea Route: A Korean point of view," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:124:y:2025:i:c:s0966692325000742
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2025.104183
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692325000742
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2025.104183?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Laurent Fedi & Olivier Faury & Laurent Etienne & Ali Cheaitou & Patrick Rigot-Muller, 2024. "Application of the IMO taxonomy on casualty investigation: Analysis of 20 years of marine accidents along the North-East Passage," Post-Print hal-04483233, HAL.
    2. Arocena, Rodrigo & Sutz, Judith, 2021. "Universities and social innovation for global sustainable development as seen from the south," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    3. Zhang, Yiru & Meng, Qiang & Ng, Szu Hui, 2016. "Shipping efficiency comparison between Northern Sea Route and the conventional Asia-Europe shipping route via Suez Canal," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 241-249.
    4. Lindstad, Haakon & Bright, Ryan M. & Strømman, Anders H., 2016. "Economic savings linked to future Arctic shipping trade are at odds with climate change mitigation," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 24-30.
    5. Faury, Olivier & Cariou, Pierre, 2016. "The Northern Sea Route competitiveness for oil tankers," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 461-469.
    6. Koçak, Saim Turgut & Yercan, Funda, 2021. "Comparative cost-effectiveness analysis of Arctic and international shipping routes: A Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 147-164.
    7. Chelsea L. Parker & Priscilla A. Mooney & Melinda A. Webster & Linette N. Boisvert, 2022. "The influence of recent and future climate change on spring Arctic cyclones," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, December.
    8. Schach, Michael & Madlener, Reinhard, 2018. "Impacts of an ice-free Northeast Passage on LNG markets and geopolitics," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 438-448.
    9. Theocharis, Dimitrios & Pettit, Stephen & Rodrigues, Vasco Sanchez & Haider, Jane, 2018. "Arctic shipping: A systematic literature review of comparative studies," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 112-128.
    10. Lasserre, Frédéric & Pelletier, Sébastien, 2011. "Polar super seaways? Maritime transport in the Arctic: an analysis of shipowners’ intentions," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 1465-1473.
    11. Olivier Faury & Yann Alix & Nicolas Montier, 2021. "From the USSR to the polar silk road: the rise of the strategic Russian Arctic port range," Post-Print hal-04999459, HAL.
    12. Sheng-Li Si & Xiao-Yue You & Hu-Chen Liu & Ping Zhang, 2018. "DEMATEL Technique: A Systematic Review of the State-of-the-Art Literature on Methodologies and Applications," Mathematical Problems in Engineering, Hindawi, vol. 2018, pages 1-33, January.
    13. Keith R. Skene, 2021. "No goal is an island: the implications of systems theory for the Sustainable Development Goals," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(7), pages 9993-10012, July.
    14. Bai, Chunguang & Sarkis, Joseph, 2013. "A grey-based DEMATEL model for evaluating business process management critical success factors," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(1), pages 281-292.
    15. Gianluigi Giustiziero & Tobias Kretschmer & Deepak Somaya & Brian Wu, 2023. "Hyperspecialization and hyperscaling: A resource‐based theory of the digital firm," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(6), pages 1391-1424, June.
    16. Zhang, Chi & Zhang, Di & Zhang, Mingyang & Lang, Xiao & Mao, Wengang, 2020. "An integrated risk assessment model for safe Arctic navigation," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 101-114.
    17. Pierre, Cariou & Olivier, Faury, 2015. "Relevance of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) for bulk shipping," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 337-346.
    18. Olivier Faury & Pierre Cariou, 2016. "The Northern Sea Route competitiveness for oil tankers," Post-Print hal-02072732, HAL.
    19. Zeng, Qingcheng & Lu, Tingyu & Lin, Kun-Chin & Yuen, Kum Fai & Li, Kevin X., 2020. "The competitiveness of Arctic shipping over Suez Canal and China-Europe railway," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 34-43.
    20. Liu, Miaojia & Kronbak, Jacob, 2010. "The potential economic viability of using the Northern Sea Route (NSR) as an alternative route between Asia and Europe," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 434-444.
    21. Lin, Dung-Ying & Chang, Yu-Ting, 2018. "Ship routing and freight assignment problem for liner shipping: Application to the Northern Sea Route planning problem," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 47-70.
    22. Zhao, Hui & Hu, Hao & Lin, Yisong, 2016. "Study on China-EU container shipping network in the context of Northern Sea Route," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 50-60.
    23. Shengda Zhu & Xiaowen Fu & Adolf K.Y. Ng & Meifeng Luo & Ying-En Ge, 2018. "The environmental costs and economic implications of container shipping on the Northern Sea Route," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(4), pages 456-477, May.
    24. Pierre Cariou & Olivier Faury, 2015. "Relevance of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) for bulk shipping," Post-Print hal-02077034, HAL.
    25. Hong, Nong, 2012. "The melting Arctic and its impact on China’s maritime transport," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 50-57.
    26. Wang, Hua & Zhang, Yiru & Meng, Qiang, 2018. "How will the opening of the Northern Sea Route influence the Suez Canal Route? An empirical analysis with discrete choice models," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 75-89.
    27. Benz, Lukas & Münch, Christopher & Hartmann, Evi, 2021. "Development of a search and rescue framework for maritime freight shipping in the Arctic," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 54-69.
    28. Olivier Faury & Yann Alix & Nicolas Montier, 2021. "From the USSR to the polar silk road: the rise of the strategic Russian Arctic port range," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(7), pages 842-861, October.
    29. Lasserre, Frédéric & Beveridge, Leah & Fournier, Mélanie & Têtu, Pierre-Louis & Huang, Linyan, 2016. "Polar seaways? Maritime transport in the Arctic: An analysis of shipowners' intentions II," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 105-114.
    30. Ho, Joshua, 2010. "The implications of Arctic sea ice decline on shipping," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 713-715, May.
    31. Arencibia, Ana Isabel & Feo-Valero, María & García-Menéndez, Leandro & Román, Concepción, 2015. "Modelling mode choice for freight transport using advanced choice experiments," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 252-267.
    32. Lee, Taedong & Kim, Hyun Jung, 2015. "Barriers of voyaging on the Northern Sea Route: A perspective from shipping Companies," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 264-270.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Koçak, Saim Turgut & Yercan, Funda, 2021. "Comparative cost-effectiveness analysis of Arctic and international shipping routes: A Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 147-164.
    2. Rigot-Müller, Patrick & Cheaitou, Ali & Etienne, Laurent & Faury, Olivier & Fedi, Laurent, 2022. "The role of polarseaworthiness in shipping planning for infrastructure projects in the Arctic: The case of Yamal LNG plant," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 330-353.
    3. Xu, Hua & Yin, Zhifang, 2021. "The optimal icebreaking tariffs and the economic performance of tramp shipping on the Northern Sea Route," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 76-97.
    4. Sibul, Gleb & Jin, Jian Gang, 2021. "Evaluating the feasibility of combined use of the Northern Sea Route and the Suez Canal Route considering ice parameters," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 350-369.
    5. Laurent Fedi & Olivier Faury & Laurent Etienne & Ali Cheaitou & Patrick Rigot-Muller, 2024. "Application of the IMO taxonomy on casualty investigation: Analysis of 20 years of marine accidents along the North-East Passage," Post-Print hal-04483233, HAL.
    6. Yang, Laike & Jiang, Miaomiao, 2024. "The impact of opening the Arctic Northeast Passage on China's carbon emissions," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 242-254.
    7. Theocharis, Dimitrios & Pettit, Stephen & Rodrigues, Vasco Sanchez & Haider, Jane, 2018. "Arctic shipping: A systematic literature review of comparative studies," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 112-128.
    8. Joseph, Lambert & Giles, Thomas & Nishatabbas, Rehmatulla & Tristan, Smith, 2021. "A techno-economic environmental cost model for Arctic shipping," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 28-51.
    9. Lasserre, Frédéric & Beveridge, Leah & Fournier, Mélanie & Têtu, Pierre-Louis & Huang, Linyan, 2016. "Polar seaways? Maritime transport in the Arctic: An analysis of shipowners' intentions II," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 105-114.
    10. Theocharis, Dimitrios & Rodrigues, Vasco Sanchez & Pettit, Stephen & Haider, Jane, 2021. "Feasibility of the Northern Sea Route for seasonal transit navigation: The role of ship speed on ice and alternative fuel types for the oil product tanker market," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 259-283.
    11. Pierre Cariou & Ali Cheaitou & Olivier Faury & Sadeque Hamdan, 2021. "The feasibility of Arctic container shipping: the economic and environmental impacts of ice thickness," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 23(4), pages 615-631, December.
    12. Theocharis, Dimitrios & Rodrigues, Vasco Sanchez & Pettit, Stephen & Haider, Jane, 2019. "Feasibility of the Northern Sea Route: The role of distance, fuel prices, ice breaking fees and ship size for the product tanker market," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 111-135.
    13. Dai, Lei & Jing, Danyue & Hu, Hao & Wang, Zhaojing, 2021. "An environmental and techno-economic analysis of transporting LNG via Arctic route," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 56-71.
    14. Benz, Lukas & Münch, Christopher & Hartmann, Evi, 2021. "Fuzzy-based decision analysis on Arctic transportation: A guidance for freight shipping companies," Chapters from the Proceedings of the Hamburg International Conference of Logistics (HICL), in: Jahn, Carlos & Kersten, Wolfgang & Ringle, Christian M. (ed.), Adapting to the Future: Maritime and City Logistics in the Context of Digitalization and Sustainability. Proceedings of the Hamburg International Conf, volume 32, pages 375-400, Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Institute of Business Logistics and General Management.
    15. Ran Zhang & Jasmine Siu Lee Lam & Zhuo Sun, 2024. "Evaluating the impact of Northern Sea Route fuel costs on bilateral trade between China and the EU," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 26(3), pages 436-461, September.
    16. Liu, ChengCheng & Lian, Feng & Yang, Zhongzhen, 2021. "Comparing the minimal costs of Arctic container shipping between China and Europe: A network schemes perspective," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    17. Wang, Yangjun & Liu, Kefeng & Zhang, Ren & Qian, Longxia & Shan, Yulong, 2021. "Feasibility of the Northeast Passage: The role of vessel speed, route planning, and icebreaking assistance determined by sea-ice conditions for the container shipping market during 2020–2030," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    18. Zeng, Qingcheng & Lu, Tingyu & Lin, Kun-Chin & Yuen, Kum Fai & Li, Kevin X., 2020. "The competitiveness of Arctic shipping over Suez Canal and China-Europe railway," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 34-43.
    19. Benz, Lukas & Münch, Christopher & Hartmann, Evi, 2021. "Development of a search and rescue framework for maritime freight shipping in the Arctic," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 54-69.
    20. Zheng Wan & Jiawei Ge & Jihong Chen, 2018. "Energy-Saving Potential and an Economic Feasibility Analysis for an Arctic Route between Shanghai and Rotterdam: Case Study from China’s Largest Container Sea Freight Operator," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-13, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:124:y:2025:i:c:s0966692325000742. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-transport-geography .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.