[hkskyline]

Shimonoseki-Shanghai ferry service to start in June
11 May 2005
Kyodo News

Nishinihon Kisen Co. said Wednesday its joint company with two other Japanese and one Chinese shipping firms will launch a ferry service between Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture in western Japan, and Shanghai, China, as early as in mid-June.

Shanghai-Shimonoseki Ferry will use the 26,933-ton Utopia 2 ferry for one weekly shuttle between the two ports, Nishinihon Kisen said.

The ferry can accommodate up to some 470 passengers and some 270 20-foot containers. Annual transportation is expected to cover 6,000 passengers and 14,000 containers including those for clothing and sundry goods imports to Japan.

Shimonoseki will be the third Japanese port linked via ferry services to Shanghai, following Osaka and Kobe, Nishinihon Kisen said. Ferry liner services have already connected Shimonoseki to South Korea's Pusan and China's Qingdao.

 

[Sen]

who will take the ferry?

 

[hkskyline]

I was quite surprised that the announcement came during a contentious time in Sino-Japanese relations. However, there is considerable trade between the two countries so the freight portion should perform well even if tourist and business passenger traffic drop on both sides.

 

[Sen]

so it's for transporting goods not people?

air link is vey conveinent i doubt any one would want to take the ferry.

 

[hkskyline]

It's for both passenger and freight transport. Interestingly, using their numbers and doing a projection, it seems freight traffic will be dominant. If the operator expects to transport 14,000 containers a year, then there will be an average of 38 containers per day out of a capacity of 270 (assuming one trip a day). A projection of 6000 passengers a year will result in an average patronage of only 16 passengers a day out of a capacity of 470.

I believe South Korea has a ferry link with Japan and traffic has been very strong. Flying may be faster but perhaps a cruise is more luxurious.