□ Korea Research Institute of Ships & Ocean Engineering (KRISO) will be strengthening technical support for medium-sized ships. The KRISO Medium-sized Ship Design and Engineering Project Group announced that it will expand its consortium, comprised of eight companies and nine projects, by adding seven companies and eight projects in the second half of 2020.  

□ The Medium-sized Ship Design and Engineering Project Group was launched in 2018 by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Busan Metropolitan City for the purpose of enhancing competitiveness in medium-sized ship design. It utilizes core technology of design personnel to provide technical support for companies participating in the consortium. 

□ The Medium-sized Ship Design and Engineering Project Group formed a consortium with nine companies in 2019, and conducted 13 projects. This year, it is carrying out 17 projects with 15 companies. The projects are mainly focused on the development of ships to target blue ocean markets. They include “125K twin-hulled shuttle tanker for North Sea, Daehan Shipbuilding”, “110-meter eco-friendly LNG bunkering vessel, Dae Sun Shipbuilding & Engineering”, “6600-ton petrochemical product carrier, STX Offshore & Shipbuilding.”

□ Among the projects conducted in 2019, 3,500㎥-capacity LPG carriers and modernized fishing boats were utilized in real-world shipyards, and led to actual orders. 

□ The Medium-sized Ship Design and Engineering Project Group has relaxed conditions on region and business size to expand support for medium-sized shipyards. The group signed an agreement with Mokpo Ship Building to develop basic design technology for a 2,300-ton car ferry and passenger ship. With the design company KR Engineering, it will be developing a marine survey/research system driven by hybrid propellers. It is actively involved in projects with design companies that are not as highly ranked in terms of R&D software and infrastructure. 

□ Medium-sized shipyards, which thrived with their medium-sized tankers in the early 2000s, have declined due to the shift in paradigm to eco-friendly ships and the outbreak of COVID-19. Shipbuilding experts and companies thus have fewer opportunities to utilize their skills and experiences. 

□ The consortium led by the Medium-sized Ship Design and Engineering Project Group will allow local medium-sized shipyards to overcome difficulties and take the next step forward.

□ Booki Kim, the president of KRISO, said, “We will continue to support companies with our research resources and technology, so as to serve public interest. Medium-sized shipbuilders will be able to advance forward through technology cooperation and joint utilization of software.”