"Building 25 Eco-Friendly Public Vessels by 2024"

Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Prepares 'Detailed Implementation Plan for Eco-Friendly Public Vessel Conversion'

Examples of Actions by Condition Assessment Grade (Based on Gangseon Standard).

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 6th that it will establish and implement the "Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Detailed Implementation Plan for the Conversion of Government Vessels to Eco-friendly Ships" this year to convert its affiliated government vessels into eco-friendly ships.

This plan is a detailed implementation measure of the "Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries 2030 Eco-friendly Government Vessel Conversion Plan" announced last October. It includes ▲ a condition assessment plan for selecting vessels to be converted ▲ conversion methods by vessel type reflecting the size and operational characteristics of the vessels ▲ and the composition and operation plan of a technical advisory group for eco-friendly ship conversion.

According to this detailed implementation plan, a condition assessment of the hull, engine, and equipment will be conducted prior to conversion. This year, considering the service life and age of each vessel, 14 government vessels including fishery guidance vessels and patrol vessels have been confirmed as targets for the condition assessment. The evaluation will be conducted by April, and based on the results, sequential replacement construction will be promoted. A Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official explained, "Although a total of 25 vessels are scheduled for replacement construction by 2024, this may change depending on the condition assessment results."

As of January this year, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries owns a total of 142 government vessels. Among them, only one vessel (LNG patrol vessel, Cheonghwa 2) is eco-friendly.

The vessels to be replaced will be converted to the most suitable ships among hybrid ships and liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion ships according to their size (tonnage), operational characteristics, and vessel type. Vessels with a low service life that currently have no replacement plans will be equipped with fine dust reduction devices.

In addition, to facilitate the introduction of eco-friendly ships in the public sector, a technical advisory group composed of five subcommittees?inspection, design, hull, engine, and electrical?and a practical support team will be operated. This advisory group will provide "customized eco-friendly ship conversion technical advice" not only to government vessels under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries but also to other ministries and local governments that own government vessels.

Kim Min-jong, Director of the Maritime Safety Bureau at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said, "We hope this detailed implementation plan for eco-friendly government vessel conversion will serve as a catalyst for the introduction of eco-friendly ships in the public sector." He added, "Through this, we expect the commercialization foundation of eco-friendly ship technology to be established, revitalizing related industries such as shipbuilding."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.