HD KSOE agrees to deal on assessing environmental impact of shipbuilding

HD Hyundai President and CEO Chung Ki-sun, right, speaks with global shipowners in a meeting during the Nor-Shipping 2023 exhibition in Oslo, Norway. [HD HYUNDAI]

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) announced a preliminary agreement Thursday aimed at assessing the environmental impact of shipbuilding at the Nor-Shipping 2023 exhibition.

HD KSOE, the intermediate shipbuilding subsidiary of HD Hyundai, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with U.K.-based Lloyd’s Register, Norway-based Knutsen and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI), to measure the carbon emissions of a ship throughout its entire lifecycle.

The ship being measured is a 174,000-cubic-meter (6 million cubic foot) LNG carrier owned by Knutsen currently being built by HD HHI, with plans for delivery later this month.

Under the MOU, the companies will assess the carbon emissions produced throughout the entire life cycle of the ship — from sourcing raw materials to construction, operation, and disposal — and publish a report with the results.

“The MOU signifies that we are measuring the carbon emissions of an actual ship from its initial construction to its eventual disposal for the first time in the world, allowing us to precisely determine its environmental impact,” HD KSOE explained. “This initiative will be instrumental in shaping carbon reduction strategies within the global shipbuilding industry.”

Furthermore, HD KSOE won an approval in principle (AIP) from Lloyd’s Register and the Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry on Tuesday for the development of a 22,000-cubic-meter multi-gas carrier carrying liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2), ammonia, and liquefied petroleum gas. It also obtained an AIP from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for the methanol third-generation low flash-point fuel supply system.

HD Hyundai President and CEO Chung Ki-sun attended the Nor-Shipping exhibition, which runs from Tuesday through Friday, along with other top executives, according to the company on Thursday. Nor-Shipping is a prominent international maritime exhibition that takes place every two years in Oslo, Norway.

At the Nor-Shipping exhibition, Samsung Heavy Industries also won an AIP from the Korean Register for the conceptual design of a 40,000-cubic-meter LCO2 carrier, the shipbuilding company announced Thursday.

It also obtained an AIP from the ABS for its smart structural health monitoring system used in ships, the company added.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]