STX Pan Ocean President Pae Seon-ryeong has been awarded the Order of Industrial Merit Service, Silver Tower in recognition for his work in transforming the company into one of Korea’s representative shipping lines at an event to mark the 17th Ocean Day anniversary in Yeosu on May 31. 

Pae is praised for his contribution to STX Pan Ocean’s striking a 300 billion won, three-year deal with Fibria, the world’s largest pulp producer, last October to transport wood pulp from Brazil to Europe, the United States, and China. In October 2010, the two companies had already reached a $5 billion supersized long-term lease contract to transport all of Fibria’s wood pulp products to all parts of the world for 25 years starting in 2012. In this regard, the Brazilian company has ordered the construction of 20 open hatch general cargo carriers to Korea, greatly boosting the Korean shipbuilding industry. 

Under the latest deal, STX Pan Ocean has secured a foothold in the global pulp carrier market, which has been dominated by European shipping lines, which are set to hand over their transportation rights. Even Japanese counterparts have so far had no access to the pulp carrier market.

STX Pan Ocean was selected as the most respectable company in shipping service in 2012 by the KMAC for the third time following 2009 and 2010. The company received the highest scores in all survey categories, including management capabilities, financial soundness, innovative activities, and social contribution activities among the surveyed shipping companies. STX Pan Ocean’s strong showing was due to its concerted efforts to explore new global business opportunities despite the unpredictable global shipping market and because all of its staff members participated in volunteering activities. 

STX Pan Ocean was put on the list of the Dow Jones Sustainable Index (DJSI) Korea last October and was selected as the No. 1 company in the transportation industry. The DJSI is the most reliable global standard of sustainable management. The DJSI Korea, developed by the Korea Production Center in 2008, has evaluated the top 200 companies in terms of the aggregate value of listed stocks and has picked industry leaders based on not just financial information but also comprehensive evaluation results from economic, environmental, and social aspects. 

STX Pan Ocean is hailed for its commitment to greenhouse gas emissions reduction and upgrading a greenhouse gas emission management system. The company has built a greenhouse gas inventory system to efficiently manage and monitor greenhouse gas emissions stemming from its ships, and it is now in a better position to deal with air pollutants. The company strives to take advantage of its efforts to conserve fuel as greenhouse gas emissions become a measurement for energy consumption. 

INNOVATIVE CUSTOMER VALUE 

STX Pan Ocean has sustained its growth based on the unwavering support and trust of its customers over the past half century. The company has worked for the growth of the company and its customers’ success through its extensive shipping services using a variety of bulkers, containerships, tankers, gas carriers, car carriers, and other special carriers. The dry bulk service to transport grain, coal, iron ore, raw sugar, and minerals has been the company’s flagship business and has demonstrated unrivaled competitiveness in the global market for a long time. 

In the container service, the company strived to develop new customers and service routes. As a result, its market position in the container service sector was among the global top 30 in respect of gross tonnage, which helped the shipper reshape itself into a leading intra-Asia carrier.

The company also continued to enhance its competencies in the non-dry bulk sectors such as tanker service, gas carrier service, and car carrier service. In particular, its heavy lift service, which commenced in 2009, has achieved a reputation for successful penetration into the market in a short period of time. In addition, its special carrier service will be further expanded by introducing platform supply vessels (PSV) in 2013.

STX Pan Ocean has more plans to offer greater values to its customers in the future. By 2012, the company aims to expand its fleet from the current 450 vessels to 500 vessels to improve cost competitiveness and operational efficiency. Its global networks will be actively extended to more emerging markets such as India, Pakistan, Latin America, and Africa to offer customized and high-quality shipping services to customers.#