Korea's First LNG Bunkering-Dedicated Ship Construction Begins... Supplying Over 5 Coastal Vessels with One Charge

Trial operation after completion of construction next year... Actual LNG supply to begin from 2023

Expected model of a 500㎥ class LNG bunkering vessel.

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 6th that it will build the country's first '500㎥ class coastal vessel LNG bunkering dedicated ship' capable of supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel to coastal vessels.

As the International Maritime Organization (IMO) strengthened the sulfur oxide content standard for ship fuels to 0.5% or less starting this year, the number of ships using eco-friendly fuel LNG is increasing worldwide. In fact, the number of LNG-powered ships worldwide increased from 68 in 2014 to 270 in 2018.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has been promoting the 'LNG Bunkering Core Technology Development and System Establishment Project' since 2018 to proactively respond to the expansion of LNG-powered ship introduction and to serve as a catalyst for the domestic LNG bunkering industry.

Among them, the 'Coastal Vessel Customized LNG Bunkering System Development Project' is a project to develop and demonstrate offshore LNG bunkering facilities in response to the increasing domestic coastal LNG bunkering demand. With the ship design completed last month, a steel-cutting ceremony marking the start of ship construction will be held on the 7th.

The ship to be built this time will be developed purely with domestic technology, involving the Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering, POSCO, EK Heavy Industries, Trans Gas Solution, Mytec, Valmax Technology, Seoul Line, and others. After completing construction by 2021 and undergoing a one-year trial operation to ensure stability, it is planned to be deployed for actual LNG supply starting in 2023. This ship can bunker more than five coastal vessels with a single charge.

Lee An-ho, Director of the Marine Policy Division at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said, "Through this project, we expect to build infrastructure capable of stably supplying LNG to domestic coastal vessels by constructing the country's first LNG bunkering ship and to revitalize related industries."

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