Mission Porto & Mar visits Busan and learns about its logistics with high technology

On the third day of the technical agenda, the International Mission Porto & Mar Brazil - South Korea 2024 crossed the Asian country from North to South and from West to East, essentially diagonally. The city of Busan is situated towards Seoul, more than 300 kilometers away. It has a port divided into three parts: North, Gamcheon and New Port, the latter being genuinely new and currently expanding.

The North part is the oldest, located within a bay, similar to Gamcheon. The New Port, which is in an expansion phase, is further south.

The port management model closely resembles the one usead in Brazil. The wharf is public, but can be leased for a period - the duration depending on each contract. One company might lease a section for a decade, another might commit to a 20-year lease and so forth.

The brazilian group was welcomed by Jin Gyoo-ho, vice-president of Port Management at Busan Port. He mentioned that koreans are not only concerned with the money they will receive, but also with the values that will be generated.

"Here, they don't just look at the best price that will be paid for the area. They also want to know if that company will attract more cargo, will stimulate innovation. Let's see how we can apply this in Brazil", said Eduardo Nery, director-general of the National Waterway Transport Agency (Antaq).

Thiago Miller, a lawyer from Rui de Mello Miller law firm, noted that in Busan price represents only 10% of the proposal, offering much greater freedom. "It's much more about looking at the port's and the region's interests, rather than just receiving a value for that area", Miller stated.

The south korean government invests heavily in innovation because that's how the country has developed. The main characteristic of Busan Port is being a hub port (a concentration point for cargo and shipping lines). Cargo arrives, is unloaded at the terminal and then departs on smaller vessels. Busan Port connects with 150 countries.

"Fifty percent of the cargo is transshipment, meaning it doesn't enter in Korea. It's cargo that arrives at the port and leaves for other countries. We observed they have nearly 200 lines departing from Busan Port to various ports worldwide. This is only possible with advanced technology and development", noted Celso Ricardo Peel Furtado de Oliveira, a judge at the Regional Labor Court of São Paulo (TRT-SP).

The latest update shows that there were 22 million TEUs in one year, 2022. "Despite this huge volume of containers, we didn't see trucks. It's obvious that a large part of this cargo, as it goes straight to industrial zones, is processed and ends up leaving in smaller trucks", observed Miller.

New and old

Thiago Miller also highlighted the long-term planning that the local port authority undertakes to keep the company updated. "They are closing activities at the older port and have already built a new port with greater capacity".

The lawyer also referred to the industrial areas adjacent to the port that assist in logistics: "From there, imported cargo is already processed and sent to industries. For exports, each merchandise arrives and has even a kind of special fiscal zone. That was another topic that caught my attention".

While the new part of the port is not yet complete, a project is already underway to return a portion of the older area to the municipality. "They are migrating and expanding their operations to an area that impacts the city less, while this older area could be used again by the population for entertainment. So, it's also another mature move, an interesting experience that we bring on how to better enhance the port-city relationship", argues Eduardo Nery.

The measures taken in Busan prompted Mauro Sammarco, president of the Commercial Association of Santos (ACS), to immediately think of Santos. "It's somewhat akin to what's happening now with Parque Valongo", he said.

On the agenda for Thursday (20), members of the Porto & Mar delegation will visit two terminals that are part of Busan Port.

Automation results in changes in the labor market

The relationship between capital and labor, combined with technology, converges in a very well-resolved scenario at Port of Busan. Mauro Sammarco, president of the Commercial Association of Santos (ACS), noted that expansion comes alongside innovation.

"Now, the port needs to adapt. It's a path of no return. We see this happening in the automotive industry. The process leads to people having better skills and better wages. We are leveraging technology to improve the capital-labor relationship", he said.

Technology x conflicts

Celso Ricardo Peel Furtado de Oliveira, a judge at the Regional Labor Court of São Paulo, recalled that Labor Law arose precisely from conflict with technology, when manual labor was replaced by machines.

"Now, with technology, those heavier physical tasks that even compromised workers' health are eliminated. It becomes about controlling the machines in operation, often in offices, involving much quieter activities", the judge explained.

Regarding port activities, Oliveira points out that technology enables remote handling of cargo, especially in container terminals, "where the entire operation can already be fully automated through technology", he concluded.