File photo
South Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has announced a pilot program to build the world’s largest LNG-powered ship.
The Ministry said Monday it would join forces with local shipyards and other organizations to develop a class of 180,000 gt vessels to be powered by clean-burning liquefied natural gas. The Ministry did not provide additional details regarding the type of ship.
“This pilot program is aimed at building the world’s largest LNG-propelled ship, which is expected to pave the way for related industries to take root in the nation,” said Kang Joon-suk, the Vice Marine Minister.
“We will expand support for LNG-powered vessels to help benefit the nation’s overall marine industry,” he said.
On Tuesday, South Korea’s top steelmaker POSCO, along with state-run Korea Gas Corporation, and the Korea Development Bank, were expected to sign an agreement with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries launching the pilot program.
The pilot program comes amid increasingly tighter international and localized regulations targeting ship emissions.
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