Seatrade Cruise News is part of the Informa Markets Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

Bohai Ferry plans cruise routes between China and North Korea

Bohai Ferry China and North Korea
The letter of intent covers cooperation to develop cruise routes between China and Nampo, North Korea
Chinese cruise ship operator Bohai Ferry signed a letter of intent for the strategic cooperation on the development of cruise routes between China and Nampo, North Korea.

The two parties will seek opportunities to open ro-pax shipping routes and cruise voyages between China’s Shandong Peninsula/Liaodong Peninsula and Nampo port in North Korea.

The news comes at a time when South Korean ports remain off-limits to cruises from China.

New channel for economic, cultural, tourism development

In the near future, the opening of the new routes will greatly promote trade and communication between China and North Korea. It will become a new channel for economic, cultural and tourism development of the two countries, Bohai Ferry chairman Yu Xinjian said.

According to the letter of intent, Bohai Ferry will also have the exclusive operating rights on the Yantai-Nampo and Dalian-Nampo shipping routes. The city of Nampo will not be allowed to cooperate with other companies on similar businesses.

Gateway to Pyongyang

Nampo is a cultural and trade port city on the west coast of North Korea and a western gateway to Pyongyang city, the capital.

Bohai Ferry currently operates the biggest ro-pax fleet in Asia. It also owns a cruise ship, Chinese Taishan, via its cruise arm in Hong Kong.