President Moon Jae-in has vowed to make South Korea a maritime powerhouse by targeting 70 trillion won in sales in the shipping industry by 2030 through combining advanced shipbuilding and digital technologies.

Moon attended a ceremony at Busan New Port on Tuesday that featured the launch of a new 16-thousand-TEU class container ship called Hanul.

During the event which also outlined strategies for maritime development, Moon pledged all-out efforts to normalize logistics traffic. He also said tougher international regulations regarding greenhouse gas emissions should serve as an opportunity to further advance the local shipping sector. 

The Oceans Ministry said the shipping sector has been posting a solid recovery on the back of the government's five-year revitalization plan unveiled in 2018.

Sales that tumbled to 29 trillion won in 2016 climbed back to 36 trillion won last year, with the goal of topping 40 trillion won this year.