SK innovation deploys robot for oil spill response drill

SK innovation Co., an integrated energy and materials company under South Korea’s SK Group, announced on Wednesday that it deployed a robot for the first time as a private company during an oil spill response drill conducted near its Ulsan Complex (CLX) on Tuesday.

The drill, led by SK Enterm Co., an SK innovation subsidiary that engages in tank terminal operations, featured the use of Ark-M, an oil recovery robot developed by Sheco Co., a startup in which SK innovation invested.

Ark-M can suction 30,000 liters of water and pollutants per hour and purify it to produce clean water with pollutant levels below 5 parts per million (PPM). The performance of this robot has been verified by organizations such as the Korea Coast Guard, the Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation, and the Navy.

Sheco is a startup focused on solving marine pollution issues arising from industrial sites and develops robotic oil recovery devices, algae removal robots, autonomous marine navigation systems, and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for detecting marine pollution.

SK enterm will evaluate the possibility of purchasing Sheco’s oil recovery robots and expanding their collaboration based on the results of the drill.