POSCO’s LNG-powered bulk carrier completes first voyage
Published by Will Owen,
Editor
LNG Industry,
POSCO CEO, Jeong-Woo Choi, has announced that the company’s new LNG-fuelled bulk carrier for overseas raw material transport has successfully completed its first voyage, marking the start of its ‘eco-friendly’ operations.
On 20 January, the vessel, HL Green, an eco-friendly vessel that departed Mokpo, South Korea, last December, arrived at Gwangyang Works loaded with 180 000 t of iron ore from Australia.
HL Green is 292 m long, 45 m wide, and has a deck height of 24.8 m, making it the world’s largest 180 000 t LNG-powered vessel. The use of LNG fuel can help reduce critical air pollutants sulfur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 99% and 85%, respectively, compared to conventional bunker fuel-powered vessels.
This case is the first in the world where a bulk carrier utilising LNG fuel successfully completed an overseas trip.
In December 2018, before the international regulations were imposed, POSCO, together with H-Line Shipping Co., LTD., decided to pre-emptively replace two of its existing raw material carriers with LNG-powered vessels. Following its completion last December, HL Green had finally made a successful first trip.
Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. was in charge of the design and construction of the two LNG-powered vessels. POSCO supplied steel plates for the ships’ bodies and 9% nickel steel as cryogenic materials for the fuel tanks. Previously, domestic shipbuilders had to depend on imports for 9% nickel steel, so it has contributed to improving the competitiveness of eco-friendly domestic ships.
In addition, POSCO practiced shared growth by promising stable cargo quantity through a long-term contract with a shipping company H-Line Shipping Co., LTD., which hesitated to utilise LNG-powered vessels because of the lack of LNG bunkering infrastructure.
Other than the two LNG-powered vessels, POSCO has installed exhaust gas cleaning systems on 21 out of 38 overseas raw material carriers. The remaining ships will be replaced with eco-friendly ships, including LNG-powered ones, by cooperating with shipping companies and ship makers.
Meanwhile, on 26 January, another eco-friendly vessel, HL Eco, which was constructed with HL Green, arrived at Gwangyang Works loaded with coal from Australia.
Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquid-natural-gas/01022021/poscos-lng-powered-bulk-carrier-completes-first-voyage/
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