Chungnam, Fostering Eco-Friendly Ship Conversion Industry

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province is set to foster the eco-friendly ship conversion industry. The core idea is to accelerate the transition of ships to eco-friendly methods, similar to how the automobile industry has recently been rapidly shifting from internal combustion engines to electric and other eco-friendly technologies.

On the 22nd, the province announced that it had been selected for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s “Eco-friendly Ship Conversion Response Fine Dust Reduction Performance Evaluation Infrastructure Establishment Project,” securing 16.4 billion KRW in national funding.

The project will be carried out with the participation of the province, Boryeong City, and the Korea Automotive Technology Institute, focusing on testing and evaluating emission reduction equipment technology to reduce fine dust from nearshore small and leisure vessels, and establishing a certification support system for electric and hybrid power conversion technologies.

As of 2019, nearshore (inland) vessels accounted for more than 36% of particulate matter and over 40% of nitrogen oxide emissions from domestic ships.

However, current domestic regulations on ship air pollutants apply only to vessels equipped with diesel engines, while those with gasoline engines face no regulations, highlighting the need to establish institutional frameworks such as performance evaluation standards.

In this context, the province judged that it is necessary to create a dedicated testing, evaluation, and certification infrastructure to respond to the eco-friendly conversion and emission regulations for nearshore small vessels and leisure boats, and plans to build specialized testing centers and evaluation equipment.

Specifically, the province plans to install a specialized testing center in the Gwansan district of Jupo-myeon, Boryeong City, by next year. The center will conduct testing and evaluation of fine dust reduction equipment and hybrid power conversion technologies for small vessels. It also aims to operate as a nationally accredited testing institution for fine dust reduction evaluation for small vessels.

The province will also promote the development of the nearshore small vessel industry by standardizing testing and evaluation operation guidelines, securing core eco-friendly ship technologies, and nurturing specialized research and development personnel.

Yu Jae-ryong, Director of the Future Industry Bureau of the province, stated, “Through this project, the province will lay the foundation for applying carbon neutrality policies to the ship industry and take the lead in realizing carbon neutrality. We will proactively respond to global exhaust regulations in the ship sector and support local mid-sized companies to gain competitiveness in overseas markets.”

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