Changwon Special City, Marine Environment Cleanup Ship ‘Nubiho’ … Taking Responsibility for Ocean Cleaning

No.1 Marine Debris Collection and Transport Vessel, Ready for Launch in February Next Year

Marine Environment Cleanup Ship 'Nubiho'.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Song Jong-gu] The ‘Changwon Nubiho’ will serve as a cleaner handling marine debris starting next year.

Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam announced on the 22nd that it will operate the marine environment cleanup vessel ‘Changwon Nubiho,’ which will patrol 313 km of the city’s coastline from February 2023 to collect and transport marine debris.

The city was selected for the 2020 Island Waste Cleanup and Transport Vessel Construction Project promoted by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to efficiently collect and process marine waste, securing a total project budget of 5.3 billion KRW (50% national funds, 15% provincial funds, 35% city funds).

Nubiho is Changwon’s first environmental cleanup vessel equipped with a hybrid propulsion system in accordance with the ‘Act on the Development and Promotion of Environmentally Friendly Ships.’ After smooth shipbuilding work, the launching ceremony was held on the 19th at Mirae Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. in Goseong, Gyeongnam, and after final inspections, it is scheduled to officially launch in February 2023.

Nubiho boasts a length of 23.5 m, width of 8 m, and depth of 3.1 m, with a scale of 99 tons. Its maximum speed is 10 knots, and it can carry up to 10 people (4 crew members on duty at all times). In areas where docking is difficult, a small workboat carried on Nubiho can be used for efficient operations.

Nubiho will patrol the 313 km coastline and island areas of Changwon City, collecting abandoned marine debris, waste Styrofoam, and discarded fishing nets. During periods of harmful organism outbreaks, it will strengthen surveillance and prevention activities and participate in eradication efforts to minimize damage to fisheries.

Additionally, Nubiho will be used for continuous monitoring of marine oil pollution and, in case of accidents, will be deployed to the accident site to assess the situation, support containment operations, and transport essential goods to island residents, assisting in marine environment-related administrative tasks.

Je Jong-nam, Director of the Marine Port and Fisheries Bureau, said, “We plan to operate Nubiho not only for marine environment cleanup but also to meet various administrative needs. We will do our best to supervise the remaining construction work to ensure safe operation without accidents.”

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