Hanwha Ocean sets green technology standard with LNG carriers

Hanwha Ocean is at the forefront of LNG carrier production, with one in 4 LNG carriers currently in operation being a creation of Hanwha. The Geoje Shipyard has found itself busier than ever, driven by heightened environmental regulations.

Hanwha Ocean's dual-fuel VLCC Eagle Ventura, set to be delivered to a Singaporean shipping company on Monday [HANWHA OCEAN]

GEOJE, South Gyeongsang — The bustling Hanwha Ocean Geoje Shipyard on Friday braced for the final preparations for the Eagle Ventura, the red-colored Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), before delivery to a Singaporean shipping company three days later. What sets the Eagle Ventura apart is its dual-fuel propulsion system, capable of running on both conventional ship fuel and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

Stepping aboard the colossal ship, towering like a 20-story apartment building, eyes were drawn to the pair of huge green fuel tanks on the upper deck. These storage tanks, with a combined capacity of 7,500 cubic meters (264,860 cubic feet) of LNG, are constructed using high manganese steel.

“Eagle Ventura is the world's first oil tanker to use high manganese steel fuel tanks and employ high-pressure dual-fuel propulsion engines (ME-GI engine) capable of using both conventional ship fuel and LNG — which makes it environmentally friendly,” a Hanwha Ocean official said.

The picture shows Hanwha Ocean's Geoje Shipyard in South Gyeongsang. Following the acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering by the Hanwha Group, the distinctive orange color of Hanwha now envelops the site, erasing any traces of its Daewoo heritage. [HANWHA OCEAN]

Green technology triumph

The Geoje Shipyard has found itself busier than ever, driven by heightened environmental regulations. The uptick in demand can be attributed to Hanwha Ocean's leading role as the shipbuilder of LNG carriers, which dates back to the days of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. One in four LNG carriers currently in operation in the world is a creation of Hanwha Ocean.

And the development and the testing of technologies — spanning from ultra-low-temperature gas technology used in LNG carriers to environmentally friendly alternative fuels like ammonia — take place at the Energy Systems Experimental Center, here in Geoje.

Eagle Ventura, for instance, meets the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) Phase 3 greenhouse gas emission regulations. The EEDI quantifies the carbon dioxide emissions produced by a ship while transporting one ton of cargo over a nautical mile, and Phase 3 demands a reduction of over 30 percent in carbon dioxide emissions between 2025 and 2030. The validation of the vessel's fuel tanks was meticulously conducted at Hanwha Ocean's Energy Systems Experimental Center.

While most experiments involving liquefied natural gas (LNG) typically rely on using liquid nitrogen, Hanwha Ocean's Energy Systems Experimental Center uses actual LNG in a controlled operational environment. The facility, the first of its kind in the global shipyard industry, also plays a vital role as a test bed for localizing core materials and technology in the Korean shipbuilding industry.

One of the center's significant achievements is the development of the LNG Reliquefaction Plant. This technology has become a standard applied not only to LNG carriers but also to LNG-fueled ships. Managing LNG in a liquid state at temperatures as low as minus 163 degrees Celsius (minus 261 degrees Fahrenheit) poses substantial challenges, as it inevitably absorbs some heat from the surroundings during transportation, leading to the formation of boil-off gas (BOG). Hanwha Ocean has addressed this challenge with the development of an efficient reliquefaction system, capable of recondensing BOG into a liquid state for recovery into the cargo hold. Such a relinquefaction system has been adopted in more than 120 LNG carriers.

“The ability to re-liquefy BOG has emerged as a pivotal technology for LNG carriers,” says Cho Du-hyeon, a senior researcher at the Energy Systems Research Team at Hanwha Ocean. “This technology collects annual technology fees from foreign companies, including those in China, amounting to several billion won. Moreover, we granted the use of patents to domestic companies, contributing to technological advancements in the local industry.”

Research using sloshing motion platforms is ongoing at the Sloshing Research Center within Hanwha Ocean's Geoje Shipyard in South Gyeongsang. [HANWHA OCEAN]

In their commitment to safety and efficiency, Hanwha Ocean operates a Sloshing Research Center. This facility focuses on mitigating the impact of sloshing, where the liquid cargo in a ship's hold sways in response to the ship's motion. This is especially critical when transporting extreme low-temperature cargo like LNG or toxic liquids like ammonia, where leakage from cargo tanks can have severe consequences for the surrounding environment. Research aimed at minimizing ship damage caused by sloshing is crucial in cargo hold design, to enable efficient cargo volume control.

The Sloshing Research Center is equipped with two sloshing motion platforms for testing model tanks, over 500 pressure sensors, and a data acquisition system with 500 channels. An unmanned automated system ensures that testing can be conducted 24 hours a day.

A researcher at Hanwha Ocean demonstrates welding using a welding robot. [HANWHA OCEAN]

Welding robots

The sounds of welding and bright white sparks filled the air as researchers at Hanwha Ocean's Production Innovation R&D Center demonstrated the welding of blocks used in shipbuilding. But the welders weren't average welders — they were robots. These robotic welding machines are collaborative robots designed to work seamlessly alongside human workers in the same workspace. Within the tight confines of a ship, welders no longer need to bend and closely inspect the work; they can oversee the robot as it diligently follows a predefined sequence, repositioning itself every half-hour.

To date, Hanwha Ocean has deployed more than 80 robots across various areas, ranging from small portable robots with mobility to highly specialized orbital GTAW robots for welding pipelines. The ultimate goal is to achieve a 70 percent automation rate in production to alleviate workers from physically demanding tasks.

The shipbuilding industry has been grappling with a labor shortage due to recent economic downturns, with skilled workers seeking more lucrative opportunities in sectors like agriculture. This shift has forced shipyards to rely more heavily on less experienced labor. The painting process, in particular, relies heavily on manual spray methods, where the quality of the paint job is contingent upon the worker's precision.

A researcher demonstrates ship painting using VR techonlogy at Hanwha Ocean's Virtual Reality Spray Training Center [HANWHA OCEAN]

Recognizing the importance of proper training and skill development, Hanwha Ocean has turned to VR technology to provide spray painting training. This VR training program caters to both beginners and intermediates, offering training levels from one to 10. Trainees wear VR equipment and choose options such as the paint type, spray gun and the nozzle size into the screen, and the algorithm automatically formulates the paint accordingly, enabling trainees to practice in a virtual environment closely resembling real working conditions. The program supports seven languages, including Korean and Vietnamese, enabling foreign trainees to undergo spray painting training in the virtual realm.

“Trainees have expressed high levels of satisfaction with the VR training program,” said Kim Jin-uk, a senior researcher at Hanwha Ocean. “In the past, it could take up to 8 months, or even a year, before workers were deemed ready for spray painting assignments, but after just two months of on-the-job training (OJT), feedback indicated that trainees were proficient in spray painting. Currently, only four individuals can train simultaneously at the center, but next year's plans include expanding the training facility to accommodate a greater number of trainees.”

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