Gunsan

Size limits

LOA 265m, beam 44m, draught 13.3m, 111,076DWT.

Water density

1020.

Load line zone

Summer.

Tides

Range 6.5 MHWS, 4.8 MHWN. At the anchorages off the floating piers the flood tide current runs for about 5.5 hours with a speed of 2.5kts and the ebb runs for 6.5 hours with a speed of 3.5kts. Near the NW end of the anchorage a maximum flood current of 3.0kts is experienced and in the old inner port area it sometimes reaches 6.0-8.0kts, so careful mooring is required.

Deepest first. The draught is the largest any of the terminal's berths states; a dash means the source gives none.

Approach

The port if approached from W and entered through a fairway marked by lightbuoys and beacons.

Port limits

The harbour limits embrace that part of the navigable river between a line 3nm seaward of the entrance bar and a line close above the city of Gunsan.

Anchorages

Anchorage may be obtained in the following areas centred on

A1 (36°59.4'N 126°26.8'E), depths 10.0-11.0m.

A2 (35°56.7'N 126°26.8'E), depths 8.0-10.0m.

A3 (35°55.5'N 126°26.8'E), depths 8.0-10.0m.

A4 (N of No 5 Lightbuoy (port hand) (35°59.0'N 126°33.0'E)), depths 5.0-8.0m.

Quarantine anchorage (35°57.4'N 126°26.8'E), depths 9.0-10.0m.

The maximum draught for vessels anchoring is about 9.1m.

Restrictions

Natural/man made obstructions: Small islands, training dikes, shoals, mud flats and drying rocks are frequent not far off the fairway in the channel (Charts DMA 95082 and ROK 305 should be studied). A great amount of silt is brought down by Kum Gang and as a result depths on the bar, in the entrance channel and in the harbour are continually changing, and constant dredging is required.

Vessels with draughts up to 10.5m can berth in the outer harbour.

Passage between the Northern bulwark and the Mung-Am Beacon is prohibited due to the base rock of the sea bottom.

A sharp lookout should be kept and a safe speed between Lightbuoys No 9 and 12.

Inner Harbour: Vessels with a draught of 5.5-8.2m can enter the Inner Harbour depending on the height of the tide, the limiting factor being the bar at the river entrance. An under keel clearance of 0.6m is required. The fairway over the bar is very narrow and therefore wind and tidal streams are also factors that may need to be taken into consideration. Vessels exceeding a draught of 4.6m should not attempt to enter if there is a heavy swell.

The handling of cargo by lighter is sometimes hindered or interrupted by NW winds which are most frequent from September to February.

Speed limits are in force of 10kts in Area Nos 1 and 2, and 5kts in Area No 3.

Bridge across harbour: A new bridge is located at 36°00.00'N 126° 42.40E.

Tugs

There are 22 tugs available. All tugs have fire fighting capabilities and are arranged though ship's agent.

Charts and publications

BA 1008. Admiralty Pilot NP32B, NP286(6).

ETA and pre-arrival notices

ETA should be sent to agent 72, 48 and 24 hours prior to arrival. Requests for pilots should be made at least 24 hours before arrival.

Health

Ship Sanitation Control Certificate and Exemption Certificates issued.

Notices and regulations

Berthing/unberthing will not be available in the case of adverse weather forecasts, such as typhoon approaching, thunderstorms, or visibility of less than 500m.

Dense fog at a limited area should be watched carefully.

Port State Control here: Tokyo MOU.

Running now: the Paris and Tokyo MOU concentrated inspection campaign on cargo securing, 1 September to 30 November 2026. Its questions are published: the questionnaire.

Repairs

Facilities at shipyards in the Gunsan area are mainly used for construction only. Gunsan is home to Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard, equipped with the world's largest drydock (1,300,000DWT) and there are also new construction facilities at Samwon Shipbuilding.

Bunkers, water and stores

Fresh water: Available with 3 days notice.

Bunkering: Limited supplies available with prior notice. Five days notice preferably but a minimum of 3 days is necessary since all fuels have to be brought in by barge from Yosu or Incheon.

Stores: All kinds of provisions are available in the port, ship's agent will arrange for ship's provisions.

Medical

Nearest hospital: Gunsan Medical Center (9km).

Transport

Nearest airport: Gunsan Airport (6km).

Working hours

Normally Jan-Mar 0700-1800hrs, Apr-Sep 0700-1700hrs, Oct-Dec 0700-1700hrs.

Stevedores work 2 x 9 hour shifts per day. Loading and discharging of cargo can be carried out 0800-1700hrs and 1800-0400hrs including Saturdays and Sundays.

Where it is

Gunsan (Kunsan) is situated on S bank near the mouth of the Kum Kang River, central W coast of S Korea.

The port

Gunsan consists of private passenger, general, vehicle, tanker and bulk berths including two new container berths and a fishing port. Rice is the main export. The port area includes Janghang on the N bank of the river opposite Gunsan City and the New Port of Kun-Jang to the South (under construction) extending seawards on reclaimed land from Gunsan Port area.

Traffic

Approx 20,000,000t of cargo, 16,000TEU, 4,000 vessels and 511,000 passengers handled annually.

What are the pilot arrangements at Gunsan?

Compulsory. Pilot boards in position 35°56.75'N 126°26.00'E, (No 1) and arranged through the Gunsan KMPA, VHF Ch 12, callsign "Gusal" Pilot.

What time zone is Gunsan in?

Local time at Gunsan is UTC+9. No summer time.

What is the maximum draft at Gunsan?

The deepest berth listed is at Pier 7: 13.30 m maximum draught. The "Max draft per terminal" table gives each terminal's figure.

What is the water density at Gunsan?

1020.

Which load line zone is Gunsan in?

Summer.

Who carries out Port State Control at Gunsan?

Port State Control at Gunsan: Tokyo MOU.

What is the UN/LOCODE of Gunsan?

The UN/LOCODE of Gunsan is KRKUV.

What crews who called at Gunsan say: pilot boarding, the agent's papers, inspections, shore leave. Each tip is shown with the writer's rank and ship type, and an AI summary sits on top once there are three or more.

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