• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.241-251
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• 2015

Recently, It became possible to transport freights and energy resources via Northern Sea Route(NSR) as global warming has been accelerated. As a result, all countries of the world and Korean local governments have had a struggle to take the advantageous position first in NSR development. However, this extreme competitions might have a negative effect on the national port industry and cause unnecessary social costs and economic losses. Therefore, the main target of this study is to find the most suitable port for NSR using AHP analysis. Most of the data was gained from previous literatures and public statistics and the weight of each factor was calculated by the result of expert survey. As a result, Busan port has the biggest competitiveness, followed by Yeosu Gwangyang, Ulsan and Incheon. From the result, this study suggested 3 possible scenarios. The first scenario specializing Busan port in NSR focuses more on developing the related businesses such as repair of ships, refueling, ship stores trade than attracting the more cargoes. the second is a strategy to make Ulsan port as a hub for energy resources, especially liquid cargo on NSR. the last is a mixed one to assign suitable roles to the ports according to their competitive capabilities.