MoF "Old Fishing Patrol Vessels to be Converted into Eco-friendly, Multipurpose Government Ships"

Promotion of Government Vessel Design Equipped with Hybrid Engine, Illegal Fishing Gear Removal Facilities, and Non-Face-to-Face Investigation Room

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 22nd that it will begin designing vessels to convert national fishery patrol vessels, which have been in service for over 25 years, into eco-friendly, multipurpose government vessels. The conversion of aging government vessels into eco-friendly ships is one of the core projects under the Ministry’s Green New Deal.

As part of the Green New Deal, the Ministry decided to introduce the first hybrid propulsion eco-friendly fishery patrol vessel and included the standard design budget in the third supplementary budget. Following proposal evaluations by internal and external shipbuilding and vessel experts in August, the selected design company will officially start the standard design from the 23rd.

The hybrid propulsion system to be introduced in this design combines the existing diesel engine with an electric motor powered by a generator and batteries. At low speeds, the generator and batteries serve as the main power source, while at high speeds, both the diesel engine and electric motor operate together. With the adoption of this hybrid propulsion system, fuel consumption is expected to be reduced by more than 15% compared to existing diesel government vessels, and emissions of fine dust and greenhouse gases will be cut by over 30%, leading to a tangible improvement in the marine atmospheric environment.

The newly constructed eco-friendly, multipurpose government vessels will be equipped with equipment to collect illegal fishing gear and marine debris, as well as a fishing vessel safety operation monitoring system to help improve fishing ground environments and establish fishery order by tracking vessel location information.

Additionally, to prepare for infectious disease situations such as COVID-19, a dedicated non-face-to-face investigation room for quarantine will be established, along with the construction of enforcement and monitoring infrastructure within the fishery patrol vessels.

Once the standard design is completed, a total of seven national fishery patrol vessels will be newly constructed by 2023. The Ministry expects that this eco-friendly government vessel construction project will contribute to the management improvement of local small and medium shipyards, which have been struggling due to COVID-19 and other difficulties.

Choi Yong-seok, Director of Fishery Resources Policy at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, stated, "We plan to steadily implement the Green New Deal through eco-friendly transition policies in the national fishery patrol vessel sector as well. We will continue to systematically build eco-friendly, multipurpose government vessels to protect fishery resources and establish fishery order."

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