Korean Used Car Vessel Schedule: 2026 Sailing & ETA Guide

A korean used car vessel schedule is the carrier-published timetable of vehicle-carrier sailings from Korean export ports (Busan, Pyeongtaek, Masan, Incheon) to destination ports worldwide. The four dominant carriers — Eukor, Hyundai Glovis, Wallenius Wilhelmsen, and K Line — collectively dispatch roughly 38 sailings per month out of Korea on Pure Car & Truck Carrier (PCTC) Ro-Ro vessels, with container alternatives via ZIM, MSC, and Maersk. Transit times range from 18–22 days to Jebel Ali, 22–26 days to Mombasa, and 28–34 days to Lagos. Always confirm both the ETD (estimated time of departure) and ETA (estimated time of arrival) before wiring your 30% deposit.

For a typical Hyundai Tucson booked on the Busan→Jebel Ali Eukor service, that means a 6–9 day cut-off-to-loading window plus an 18–22 day ocean transit. Browse our live Hyundai inventory to anchor your booking against units already gate-in-ready, or request a sailing-schedule quote from SH GLOBAL.

Live Hyundai inventory at SH GLOBAL — browse units bookable against the next Ro-Ro sailing

What Is a Korean Used Car Vessel Schedule?

A korean used car vessel schedule is the carrier-published list of voyages — each voyage identified by a vessel name and voyage number (for example, M/V Asian Vision V.057E) — showing which Korean port the ship calls, when it departs (ETD), which destination ports it serves in rotation, and the projected arrival date (ETA) at each port. The schedule is the document the exporter, the freight forwarder, and the buyer all consult to align deposit timing, B/L issuance, and onward inland logistics.

Korean used car exports overwhelmingly move on Pure Car & Truck Carrier (PCTC) vessels — purpose-built Ro-Ro ships with 12–14 internal car decks and 4,000–8,000 CEU (Car Equivalent Unit) capacity. Container shipping is a secondary channel for high-value or remote-port destinations.

A typical schedule entry contains: vessel name, voyage number, port rotation, ETD at the Korean port, cargo cut-off, documentation cut-off, ETA at the discharge port, service code, and equipment type. Three numbers matter most to the buyer: ETD (when does the ship leave Korea?), cargo cut-off (when must your vehicle be gated-in at the terminal?), and ETA (when does it arrive?). Miss the cut-off and your unit rolls to the next sailing — typically 7–14 days later — which delays your B/L and pushes back the 70% balance trigger.

For the deeper documentation context, see our Korean used car bill of lading guide — the B/L is generated only after the vessel sails, so the schedule directly drives your payment timeline.

Major Carriers Out of Korea (2026)

The Korean used car export trade depends on six Ro-Ro carriers and three container lines. Each runs a different rotation and serves different markets.

Hyundai Glovis

The dominant Korean Ro-Ro carrier, owned by Hyundai Motor Group. Operates ~14 sailings/month from Pyeongtaek (its home port) and Masan, with secondary calls at Busan and Incheon. Glovis runs three core trade lanes:

• Asia–Middle East: Pyeongtaek/Masan → Shanghai → Singapore → Jebel Ali → Dammam → Jeddah (every 10 days)
• Asia–Europe: Pyeongtaek → Singapore → Suez → Bremerhaven/Zeebrugge (every 14 days)
• Asia–Africa: Masan → Singapore → Mombasa → Dar es Salaam → Durban (every 14 days)

Fleet includes the Glovis class (5,200–6,500 CEU). On-time performance averaged 92% in 2025 (1.8-day mean slip).

Eukor Car Carriers

A joint Wallenius Wilhelmsen–Hyundai venture and the largest carrier of finished Korean vehicles. Roughly 12 sailings/month from Korea, mainly out of Pyeongtaek and Masan with overflow at Ulsan. Strong network into:

• Middle East: Jebel Ali, Dammam, Jeddah, Salalah (weekly)
• West Africa: Lagos (Tin Can Island), Tema, Cotonou (every 14–18 days)
• East Africa: Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Durban (fortnightly)
• South America: Santos, Buenos Aires, Manzanillo (monthly)

Eukor's Asian Vision class carries 6,500 CEU. On-time performance was 88% in 2025 (mean slip 2.4 days), pulled down by Suez routing detours.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WW)

Direct calls to Korea ~6 sailings/month, mostly serving Europe and Oceania. Less common for Middle East/Africa exports but used for Australian, New Zealand, and European deliveries.

K Line, NYK, MOL ACE

Japanese-flag operators with secondary Korean calls. K Line runs ~5 sailings/month, strong on the Busan→Suez→Mediterranean rotation. NYK ~4 sailings/month, primarily trans-Pacific and Australia/NZ. MOL ACE ~3 sailings/month for North American and Australian routes.

Container Carriers (ZIM, MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, Evergreen)

Used when Ro-Ro is unavailable to a port (e.g., Conakry, Beira, Kosovo via Bar) or when the buyer wants Full Container Load (FCL) consolidation. Container schedules are denser — Busan and Incheon see 80+ container sailings per week to global ports — but cost per unit is higher unless you fill 4 units in a 40-foot HC. See our Korean used car container shipping guide for the FCL/LCL economics.

OTI = On-Time Index: percent of port calls within ±24 hours of published ETA, 2025 calendar year.

Sailing Frequency by Route

Frequency dictates your scheduling flexibility. Weekly services let you slot a unit on short notice; monthly services force you to plan 4–6 weeks out.

Korea → Middle East (GCC)

Korea → Africa

For a region-wide overview, our Africa export guide consolidates duty rates, port-handling fees, and PVoC requirements alongside these sailing windows.

Korea → Central Asia (via Vladivostok rail)

For the full Central Asia routing, see our Central Asia export guide and the Central Asia export market data analysis.

Korea → Europe / Balkans

How to Read a Vessel Schedule

A vessel schedule entry has nine fields. Skipping any of them means you'll miss either the cut-off or misjudge the ETA.

1. Vessel name — the ship itself (e.g., M/V Glovis Composer). Vessel substitution is common; don't fixate on the name.
2. Voyage number — unique identifier per voyage (e.g., 224E). The "E" or "W" suffix indicates eastbound vs westbound rotation.
3. Port rotation — the sequence of ports the vessel calls. Your loading port and discharge port must both appear, and the discharge port must come after the loading port in the rotation.
4. ETD (Estimated Time of Departure) — when the ship leaves the loading port. Quoted in local KST.
5. Cargo cut-off — when your vehicle must be gated-in at the terminal. Typically 48 hours before ETD for Ro-Ro; 72 hours for FCL container.
6. Documentation cut-off — when the SI (shipping instructions) and export declaration must be filed. Usually 4–24 hours before cargo cut-off.
7. ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) at the discharge port — published in destination local time.
8. Service code — carrier-specific lane identifier (e.g., Glovis "MEX-2" for Middle East Express 2).
9. Equipment — Ro-Ro / FCL 40HC / FCL 20DV — affects your loading method.

A vessel schedule is dynamic — carriers update it weekly, and ETD/ETA can shift ±48 hours during the booking window. Always confirm the schedule the day before cargo cut-off.

Booking & Cut-Off Process Flow

The path from "your exporter accepts your PI" to "ship sails" is six discrete steps, each gated by a cut-off:

1. Vessel selection — exporter picks a sailing 10–18 days from PI date that matches the buyer's destination.
2. Booking confirmation — exporter requests space; carrier issues a Booking Number within 24 hours.
3. Gate-in cut-off — vehicle delivered to terminal yard, scanned in (typically 5–7 days before ETD).
4. Documentation cut-off — SI, export declaration (수출신고필증), and B/L draft submitted (typically 2 days before ETD).
5. Loading — vehicle driven onto Ro-Ro deck or stuffed into container (24 hours before ETD).
6. Sailing (ETD) — ship leaves Korean port; B/L originals issued the same day.

Miss any cut-off and your unit rolls to the next sailing — a 7-to-14-day slip that cascades through your 70% balance and onward inland logistics. For first-time buyers, build a 5–7 day buffer between your deposit wire and the first eligible cut-off.

Port Cut-Off Times by Korean Terminal

Cut-off windows vary by port and carrier. The tighter the cut-off, the less margin for last-minute documentation issues.

A tighter cut-off (e.g., Pyeongtaek 48h) means your exporter must complete de-registration, performance inspection, and pre-shipment inspection before the cut-off — often a day or two earlier than the ETD shown on the schedule. For the port-by-port comparison, see our Korean used car export ports guide.

ETA Reliability by Carrier (2025 Data)

ETA accuracy matters because your B/L issues on actual sailing date, your customs clearance documentation propagates from there, and any delay cascades into demurrage at the destination port.

Suez Canal disruption (Houthi/Red Sea incidents, plus 2024 Cape of Good Hope diversions for some operators) added 8–14 days to Korea–Mediterranean and Korea–West Africa transit times during the worst-affected months. The 2025 averages above are post-stabilization.

For real-time tracking once your vessel sails, see our Korean used car cargo tracking guide — the schedule tells you when, the tracking tells you where.

How the Schedule Drives Your Payment Timeline

The sailing schedule is the clock every other milestone runs against. Here's how a 30/70 deposit structure aligns to a typical 2026 Eukor sailing from Pyeongtaek to Mombasa for a $14,500 FOB Tucson:

• Day 0: Buyer accepts PI
• Day 1: 30% deposit ($4,350) wired SWIFT
• Day 2–4: Exporter starts de-registration, performance inspection, books vessel
• Day 5: Booking confirmation issued, vessel = M/V Asian Vision V.061E, ETD Day 13
• Day 9: Vehicle gated-in at Pyeongtaek terminal
• Day 11: Documentation cut-off; SI and export declaration filed
• Day 13: ETD — vessel sails
• Day 14: Draft B/L issued; balance ($10,150) wired
• Day 15: Original B/L released to buyer's bank/forwarder
• Day 35–38: Vessel arrives Mombasa (ETA varies)
• Day 40–45: Buyer takes delivery after KEBS PVoC clearance

If the carrier slips ETD by 3 days (well within Eukor's 88% OTI), your balance and B/L issuance slip in lockstep. The schedule, not the calendar, drives the milestone. For the full deposit-balance mechanics, see our Korean used car export advance payment guide.

Sample Schedules — Three Real Routes

Below are anonymized but representative Q2 2026 schedule entries pulled from carrier sailing notices.

Sample 1 — Pyeongtaek → Jebel Ali (Eukor)

Best fit for: GCC buyers needing weekly cadence; Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Palisade fleet orders. Pair with our UAE import guide for landed-cost calculation.

Sample 2 — Masan → Mombasa (Hyundai Glovis)

Best fit for: Kenyan, Tanzanian, and South African importers; LHD-focused inventory. See our Kenya import guide and Kia inventory for vehicles slot-ready for Mombasa.

Sample 3 — Pyeongtaek → Lagos / Tin Can Island (Eukor)

Best fit for: Nigeria, Ghana, Benin; SONCAP/Form M-prepared shipments. Pair with our Nigeria import guide.

What Disrupts Korean Vessel Schedules

Five recurring causes for ETD/ETA slip in 2025–2026:

1. Suez Canal / Red Sea incidents — added 8–14 days when vessels reroute via Cape of Good Hope. Affects Med, W. Africa, Northern Europe lanes.
2. Korean port congestion — Pyeongtaek occasionally backs up during Hyundai Motor Group product-launch quarters; cut-off may be enforced earlier than published.
3. Weather (typhoon season) — June–September. Carriers compress or cancel sailings during named storms.
4. Vessel substitution — when a scheduled vessel is dry-docked or chartered out, carriers swap in a smaller ship; your booking may be downsized to the next sailing.
5. Auction-source delays — if your exporter sources from a Glovis auction lot that hammers later than the original schedule assumed, the gate-in cut-off slips and the unit rolls.

The first three are carrier-side; the last two are exporter-side. SH GLOBAL maintains buffer schedules — we book one sailing earlier than the latest possible cut-off so a 1–3 day exporter slip doesn't cascade into a missed sailing.

How to Get a Vessel Schedule Before You Pay

You have three options:

1. Ask your exporter — every legitimate Korean exporter can email you the next 4–6 sailings on your route. If they cannot, treat it as a red flag (they may not have established carrier accounts).
2. Carrier websites — Hyundai Glovis publishes monthly Ro-Ro schedules on glovis.net; Eukor on eukor.com (login required for booking). Wallenius Wilhelmsen schedules at walleniuswilhelmsen.com.
3. Forwarder portals — Kuehne+Nagel, DSV, and Logwin maintain consolidated Ro-Ro schedules that aggregate multiple carriers.

For first-time buyers, get the schedule before you accept the Proforma Invoice — the PI ETD date should match a real published sailing, not a rough guess. For the upstream buying mechanics, our how to buy guide walks through the deposit-to-delivery sequence.

Common Mistakes Buyers Make With Vessel Schedules

• Booking against an unconfirmed schedule — exporter quotes "next sailing 12 May" without a vessel name or voyage number; the buyer wires deposit, then the unit rolls because no real booking existed.
• Ignoring port rotation — the schedule shows Pyeongtaek → Singapore → Jebel Ali, but the buyer expected a direct call. Transhipment at Singapore adds 4–7 days.
• Confusing ETD with cut-off — a buyer who races to gate-in 24 hours before ETD discovers cut-off was 48–72 hours before ETD; vehicle rolls.
• Forgetting time zones — ETA published in destination local time but the buyer reads it as KST and books inland trucking 9 hours too early.
• Trusting "weekly service" claims — some lanes show "weekly" on marketing pages but actually run every 10–14 days during low season.

For more pre-purchase pitfalls, see our Korean used car buying mistakes guide. For end-to-end timing context, our delivery timeline guide shows how the vessel schedule fits into the full purchase-to-delivery clock.