General Description
Location: Gwangyang lies at the head Gwangyang Bay north of Yeosu. Gwangyang Port (Gwangyang Region) lies to the north of Myo-do, Gwangyang Port (Yeosu Region) lies to the south of Myo-do.
General overview: Gwangyang (formerly Kwangyang) is a subport of Yosu. The Port of Gwangyang covers a water area of 14.5 hectares, and it contains 78 berths that accommodate some 43 thousand ships and handle about 200 million tons of cargo per year. Vessels calling at the Port of Gwangyang include oil tankers carriers of containers, bulk cargoes, chemicals, and liquefied natural gas.
The 4,231 square kilometer (45.5 thousand square mile) container terminal, combined with additional support and logistics facilities and the new Yulchon Songdo District near Seoul, gives logistics companies in the Port of Gwangyang a competitive advantage. The Port of Gwangyang is surrounded by closely-related facilities that include large-scale industrial complexes, the 96 thousand square kilometer (more than one million square mile) Port of Gwangyang Industrial Complex, the 31 thousand square kilometer (337 thousand square mile) Yeuso National Industrial Complex, and the POSCO Gwangyang Works. The Port of Gwangyang also is a base for fundamental industrial products that include petrochemical products, fertilizers, iron ore, coal, and steel products.
The Port of Gwangyang is also the starting point for the transcontinental railroad that includes the Trans-Korean Railroad (TKR), the Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR), and the Trans-China Railway and links the Korean peninsula with China, Russia, and Europe.
There are five districts within 90 thousand square kilometer (972 thousand square mile) Port of Gwangyang Free Economic Zone. The Gwangyang District includes the Port of Gwangyang Container Terminal. The Free Economic Zone also contains the Sindeok District, Yulchon District, Hwayang District, and the Hadong District. The Free Economic Zone contributes greatly to the infrastructure supporting logistics, manufacturing, housing, and tourism activities in the Port of Gwangyang and make it an important business center for Northeast Asia.
Container terminals
The Port of Gwangyang Container Terminal boasts a 100 percent on-dock system that supports today's mega-vessels carrying over ten thousand TEUs of containerized cargo. The terminal can make an average of 30 moves per hour, making it a highly productive facility. Supported by state-of-the-art information technology systems and automated gate-in and gate-out services enhance the logistics functions of the Port of Gwangyang Container Terminal. Global shipping lines like APL, CMA, Hanjin, Maersk, and Hyundai Merchant Marine Company provide worldwide and feeder services at the Port of Gwangyang Container Terminal.
Most of the planned development at the Port of Gwangyang Container Terminal have been completed. This includes fifteen 50-thousand ton berths and five 20-thousand ton berths with total capacity for 19.3 million TEUs of containerized cargo. An additional fourteen 50-thousand ton berths are planned to be completed by 2020 that will add capacity for 5.6 million TEUs. Existing berths offer total quay length of 17.6 kilometers (10.9 miles) with alongside depth of 16 meters (52.5 feet).
The Port of Gwangyang Container Terminal covers a total area of 274.6 hectares, and its container yards cover a total of 170.7 hectares. The Port of Gwangyang Container Terminal includes eight Container Freight Stations of one-half hectare. The Port of Gwangyang Container Terminal is equipped with 30 container cranes, and it has storage capacity for 123 thousand TEUs of containerized cargo with over 44.8 thousand terminal ground slots.
Traffic figures: Approx. 43,000 vessels call the port and about 200 million tons of cargo are handled annually.
Load line zone: Summer.
Max.size:
Breakbulk: 50,000 d.w.t., depth 15.0 m.
Containers: 50,000 d.w.t., depth 16.0 m.
Ro-Ro: 50,000 d.w.t., depth 15.0 m.
Bulk: 250,000 d.w.t., depth 22.5 m.
Crude: 320,000 d.w.t., LOA 400 m.
Products: 320,000 d.w.t., LOA 400 m.
Chemicals: 100,000 d.w.t., depth 16.5 m.
Gas: 82,200 d.w.t., depth 14.0 m.
The larges vessel called at the port: LOA: 400 m, draught: 18 m, deadweight: 250,877 t.