South Korea's sole icebreaker sets out on 17th Arctic expedition

South Korea's only icebreaking research vessel, the Araon, will depart Gwangyang Port on Saturday for an 83-day Arctic expedition, the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) announced Friday.

The voyage marks the Araon's 17th Arctic expedition and is notable as the first field survey under a project jointly pursued by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and KOPRI to develop integrated, measurement-based forecasting technology for Arctic route operations.

"The Araon will sail through key waters including the Bering Sea, the East Siberian Sea, the Chukchi Sea and the central Arctic Ocean to investigate climate change and seabed conditions, and collect field measurement data in preparation for the era of Arctic shipping routes," KOPRI said.

A research team led by Dr. Jin Gyeong will gather sea-ice and meteorological data essential for safe navigation along Arctic routes — information that will serve as core input for developing AI-based technology to predict route hazards such as sea-ice conditions. KOPRI said it hopes the expedition will mark "the first step toward building a Korean-style Arctic route operating system based on our own data."

A team led by Dr. Yang Eun-jin will retrieve long-term mooring observation equipment that could not be recovered last year due to sea-ice interference, securing a full year's worth of Arctic Ocean data. The team will also anchor on Arctic sea ice Friday and Saturday to take precise measurements of its thickness and structure. Detailed oceanographic observations are also planned to investigate the "Atlantification" of the Arctic — a phenomenon in which the Arctic Ocean increasingly resembles the Atlantic as warm Atlantic currents flowing into the region intensify. The team will additionally conduct a preliminary survey of the Chukchi Borderland, designated last month as a pilot area for joint scientific research at the fifth meeting of parties to the Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean.

A research team led by Dr. Hong Jong-guk will venture into high-latitude waters of the central Arctic Ocean to collect seafloor sediment samples. The samples are expected to provide foundational data for understanding long-term environmental changes and the evolutionary history of the Arctic Ocean.

"This expedition is meaningful both as a record of the Arctic — the front line of climate change — and as preparation for the coming era of Arctic shipping routes," said Shin Hyeong-cheol, director of the Korea Polar Research Institute.