South Korea Flag Vessels
2,588 vessels registered under the South Korea flag
South Korea Maritime Fleet Overview
South Korea has 2,588 registered vessels tracked on MarineRadar. The fleet primarily consists of Fishing (244), Cargo (169), Tanker (143), Tug (126) and Unknown (117). Track all South Korea-flagged ships with live AIS positions and real-time maritime data.
About the South Korea Flag
Registry Authority
The Republic of Korea flag is administered by the Korea Maritime Safety Tribunal under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF). South Korea has one of the world's largest national-flag fleets by deadweight, with around 1,500 vessels, and is consistently on the Paris MOU, Tokyo MOU, and US Qualship 21 white lists.
Why Ships Register in Korea
Korean registration is used primarily for cabotage tonnage — coastal trade between Busan, Incheon, Ulsan, and Gwangyang — and for the country's strategically important LNG, crude, and iron-ore importing fleet. South Korea's secondary "Jeju International Ship Registry" offers tax incentives that bring it closer to open-registry economics for internationally trading ships.
Notable Operators
HMM (the country's flagship container line, member of THE Alliance), SK Shipping, H-Line Shipping, Pan Ocean, Polaris Shipping, and Hyundai Glovis (the automotive-logistics arm of Hyundai Motor Group) flag substantial fleets in Korea.
Trade Routes
Korean-flagged ships dominate the country's strategic LNG imports from Qatar, Australia, the US Gulf, and Oman, crude tanker imports from the Middle East, and iron-ore and coal imports from Australia, Brazil, and Indonesia. HMM's container fleet operates Asia–Europe, transpacific, and intra-Asia loops.
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