The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said it plans to develop an versatile testing platform by 2025 to join global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create an eco-friendly maritime industry.
Global shipbuilding and shipping markets are hastening a paradigm shift from the existing bunker oil vessels to an eco-friendly ship system in response to the International Maritime Organization's tightening regulations and the EU emissions trading system.
Following the implementation of the Act on the Promotion of Environmentally Friendly Ship Development and Distribution in January of last year, the Korean government announced the "2030 Korean Green Ships (Greenship-K) Promotion Strategy" in December. The development of this testing platform was planned as a part of the policy.
To this end, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries selected the Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO), an affiliated organization of the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST), and the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) as supervising institutions for the project.
Korean Register (KR), Kunsan National University, Jeollanam-do, Mokpo City, and seven private companies, including Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and Hyundai Heavy Industries, will also participate as joint research institutes and investors.
The investment in this project amounts to 36.4 billion won in total, and the main subjects are developing a test platform for alternative fuel propulsion engines and developing a 2,100-horsepower LNG-Ammonia mixed fuel engine. LNG ships have a greenhouse gas reduction effect of up to 30%, but when mixed with LNG and carbon-free fuels (such as ammonia), the reduction effect is up to 50%.
Usually, demonstration ships are built separately depending on the propulsion system applied, such as electricity and hydrogen. Still, this project will simplify the process by using only one multi-functional test platform in the future. It is expected to drastically reduce the cost of building demonstration ships (about 10 to 30 billion won per ship).
In addition, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to build a test and research building with a floor area of 5000㎡ on the site of Mokpo Namhang Port (southern port) during the project period. When the project is completed in 2025, eco-friendly ship companies and research institutes will be able to examine their technologies at the facility at a low cost.
Koo Do-Hyung, head of the marine development department at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said, "We expect the project to greatly improve the development conditions of eco-friendly ship-related technologies.”
------------------
미디어케이앤은 BVL(Bundesvereinigung Logistik : 독일연방물류협회)의 한국대표부로 양국간 물류비지니스의 가교역할을 하고 있습니다.
