Japan, China and South Korea agreed to work together to ensure the safety of ship operations in the Arctic, reports Japan's Jiji Press.

Just a week after Marsh LLC (a company for insurance broking and risk management based in New York) released its report on "Arctic Shipping: Navigating the Risk and Opportunities", concluding that the majority of ships and their crews are not ready to navigate in the Arctic waters, (read the article here), the three Asian states agreed to cooperate in establishing an efficient logistics system, developing an Arctic Ocean route and setting up a distribution system more environmentally friendly. In a joint statement adopted at the meeting, the officials said that the three nations also will share information on safety measures for ships

High-ranking officials in charge of transportation from the three countries reached the agreement at a meeting in Yokohama, south of Tokyo.The meeting, the fifth of its kind, was attended by Japanese transport minister Akihiro Ota, Chinese Ministry of Transport chief engineer Zhou Haitao, and South Korean Minister of Ocean and Fisheries Lee Ju-young.

"The meeting was meaningful toward strengthening cooperation among Japan, China and South Korea in the field of transportation," Ota said, adding that he believes the stepped-up trilateral cooperation will contribute greatly to economic growth in northeast Asia. – Bernama

Source: The Sun Daily