To effectively respond to the megaship era and reinforce its global competitiveness, Ulsan Port Authority (UPA) launched a comprehensive infrastructure innovation project. While Ulsan Port naturally faced severe constraints with aging mooring facilities built over 30 years ago, insufficient water depth frequently restricted megaship berths, incurring approximately $3.3 million USD in additional logistics costs annually. Recognizing that full-scale redevelopment was unfeasible due to densely packed adjacent industrial complexes, UPA pioneered a strategic remodeling solution utilizing existing port assets.
Rather than pursuing simple facility repairs, this project bundled onshore performance improvements (quay and berthing facility reinforcement) and offshore maintenance dredging into a single, integrated package with a total budget of approximately $21.26 million USD. To execute this large-scale transformation without disrupting vital port operations, UPA formed an integrated Onshore-Offshore Task Force consisting of over 30 port clients and stakeholders, effectively managing regular communication channels and hotlines.
As of June 2026, these phased efforts have achieved monumental milestones. Through the successful reinforcement and dredging of aging berths, Ulsan Port’s overall berth capacity increased by 98% and its cargo handling capacity more than doubled by 104%. By securing an additional safe cumulative depth of 14.2 m across the port, these comprehensive efforts not only enhance operational efficiency but also deliver a premier, sustainable infrastructure improvement model that aging ports worldwide can successfully replicate.