News / PanStar increases Busan-Osaka capacity as express cargo volumes return

PanStar Dream. Credit Tom Park

South Korean liner group Panstar has increased its Busan-Osaka sailings from three a week to four after express cargo volumes swelled five-fold in May.

Ro-ro vessel PanStar Dream (pictured), which has 180 teu of container capacity, was idled as tourism ground to a halt during the first wave of Covid in 2020, and has been reactivated to join PanStar Genie 2 on the Busan-Osaka route.

PanStar Enterprises, which operates the ro-pax service through PanStar Line Dot Com, said it delivered 32,660 parcels in May, the first time monthly volumes exceeded 30,000, and was a near five-fold increase year on year.

Thanks to synergies with its high-speed ro-ro ferry services, Panstar’s monthly cargo volumes have risen meteorically from Ju;y 2020’s 860 parcels as the pandemic encouraged more consumers to shop online.

A third ship, PanStar Genie, which calls at Busan, Tokyo, Nagoya, Busan and Shidao in China, has now omitted Nagoya from its port calls. Instead, PanStar Genie 2 will now include a call at Nagoya.

A PanStar spokesperson said:, “Our express cargo service provides fast delivery, comparable to an air express service, at a low cost through an integrated logistics system that links group-wide infrastructure, such as high-speed ferry lines between South Korea, China and Japan.

“The express shipping service means overseas customers can receive their goods four to five days after placing an order.”