[2020 National Audit] Eo Gi-gu "Ulsan Port, High-Pressure AMP Not Installed"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] It has been revealed that the shore power supply (AMP) facilities currently installed at ports in South Korea are grossly insufficient and their usage performance is also poor in reducing fine dust.

On the 20th, Oh Gi-gu, a member of the Democratic Party belonging to the National Assembly's Agriculture, Forestry, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee, pointed out at the National Assembly's audit of the four major port corporations that "At the four major ports?Busan Port, Incheon Port, Ulsan Port, and Gwangyang Port?197 low-voltage AMPs and 25 high-voltage AMPs have been installed, but so far the usage of high-voltage AMPs has been only 11 times at Busan Port and 3 times at Gwangyang Port. Although high-voltage AMPs are installed at Incheon Port, there has been no usage, and Ulsan Port does not have any high-voltage AMPs installed."

In particular, in the case of Ulsan Port, ships equipped with high-voltage AMPs have docked 33 times over the past four years, but since high-voltage AMPs are not installed, attempts to operate high-voltage AMPs have not even been made.

Low-voltage AMPs are mainly used by government vessels and pilot boats, while large vessels such as container ships and large passenger ships that emit a lot of fine dust should use high-voltage AMPs.

Since June of last year, the three major port corporations excluding Ulsan Port have been operating an incentive system based on the usage performance of high-voltage AMP under a pilot project agreement for shore power supply facilities.

At Busan Port and Gwangyang Port, 11 and 3 vessels respectively have used AMP facilities, while at Incheon Port, the two facilities installed at the international passenger terminal have not been used at all due to COVID-19.

Many countries, including the United States and China, are actively installing and using shore power supply facilities (AMP) to reduce fine dust at ports.

This is because when a ship docks at a port, it can operate its engines using electricity supplied from the shore instead of bunker C fuel or diesel, thereby reducing air pollution emitted by the ship.

Accordingly, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) considered mandating the use of AMP at ports, but due to a lack of infrastructure, it has only recommended non-mandatory installation to member countries.

Meanwhile, according to the 'Air Pollutant Emission Status' submitted by the four major port corporations to Representative Oh's office, all four major ports have serious fine dust problems.

Representative Oh said, "According to the '2019 World Air Quality Report,' South Korea has the worst fine dust concentration among OECD countries," and urged, "Port corporations must make greater efforts to ensure a clean and safe air environment within ports by installing AMPs and actively encouraging ships to use them."

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