KRISO to develop Korea’s first LNG bunkering vessel for coastal ships

- 500 LNG bunkering vessel to be complete in 2021 -

□ The Korea Research Institute of Ships & Ocean Engineering (President Booki Kim, hereinafter “KRISO”) announced that it will develop an LNG bunkering vessel, the first in Korea, to supply coastal ships with LNG fuel.

□ Beginning this year, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has implemented a regulation called IMO 2020, requiring marine fuels to have lower maximum sulphur content, with a change from 3.5% to 0.5%. In response, the shipbuilding industry has developed ships that run on LNG. More than 360 LNG-fuelled ships are in operation around the world, and the supply of such ships is continuing to increase.

□ Last December, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries designated the waters near Incheon Port and other major Korean ports as Emission Control Areas. From September onwards, the maximum sulphur content of marine fuels near the five major ports including Incheon Port will be set at 0.1%.

□ To expand the LNG fuel supply infrastructure in Korea, KRISO has since 2018 participated in the LNG bunkering vessel development project under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The steel cutting ceremony, marking the start of the construction of the LNG bunkering vessel, was held on May 7.

□ The ship is Korea’s first LNG bunkering vessel for coastal ships. Capable of performing ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operations at sea, the vessel was developed purely based on domestic technology by Trans Gas Solution, POSCO, EK Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., Mytec, Valmax Technology, and Seoul Line.

□ The vessel was jointly designed by KRISO and Trans Gas Solution, and KRISO completed the resistance performance evaluation using an experimental model. Trans Gas Solution designed the main process system and bunkering system. The LNG storage tank will be developed by POSCO using high manganese steel. The core components of the fuel supply system and the integrated fuel supply system will be developed by Mytec and Valmax Technology, respectively. EK Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. in Goseong, Gyeongsangnam-do Province is in charge of shipbuilding, and Seoul Line will be conducting trials and performance verification. All processes from design to trials will be inspected by the Korean Register.

□ After completion in 2021, LNG bunkering tests will be performed on LNG-fuelled ships by 2022 to ensure optimal bunkering performance.

□ Booki Kim, the president of KRISO, said, “Following the successful development of Korea’s first LNG bunkering vessel, we will secure related technology and infrastructure, so as to play a leading role in developing technology for ships that run on eco-friendly fuels.”