Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Ferry Resumes Incheon-Jeju Route After 7 Years

Resumption of Jeju Route After 7 Years Since Sewol Ferry Disaster

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The car ferry built by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard is reconnecting the Incheon-Jeju route, which had been suspended for over seven years since the Sewol ferry disaster.

Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, a shipbuilding affiliate of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, announced on the 10th that the 27,000-ton car ferry "BEYOND TRUST," commissioned by the domestic passenger shipping company HiDex Storage, held its inaugural ceremony and has commenced full-scale operations.

Ordered in 2019, the "BEYOND TRUST" measures 170 meters in length, 26 meters in width, and 28 meters in height. It can carry 850 passengers, 487 passenger cars, and 65 containers, operating at a maximum speed of 23.2 knots (approximately 43 km/h).

Notably, the vessel is designed with low weight and a low center of gravity to maximize stability during navigation for passenger safety. It is equipped with various safety facilities to prepare for emergencies such as flooding or fire, including Marine Escape Systems (MES), satellite navigation devices, automatic fire alarms, and sprinklers.

Inside the hull, there are over 90 premium cabins along with amenities catering to all age groups, such as a restaurant, business lounge, sunset terrace, massage lounge, convenience store, kids zone, and pet zone.

Additionally, the ferry is equipped with two 13,000-horsepower "Powerful Engines for Ship Propulsion," developed by Hyundai Heavy Industries, featuring optimal fuel injection technology that reduces nitrogen oxide emissions, as well as sulfur oxide reduction devices to comply with various environmental regulations.

At the inauguration ceremony, Shin Hyun-dae, president of Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, stated, "Since this passenger ship was born out of great sorrow, all employees devoted their efforts to building a vessel that anyone can travel on with peace of mind. We hope that in South Korea, which has secured the world's number one shipbuilding technology, our citizens can enjoy maritime travel on the safest passenger ship."

Meanwhile, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard has previously delivered the 17,000-ton car ferry "Seonghee" (Busan-Shimonoseki) in 2002, the 31,000-ton "New Golden Bridge 7" (Incheon-Weihai) in 2018, and the 27,000-ton "Queen Zenobia" (Mokpo-Jeju) in 2020, all successfully.

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