[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Samsung Heavy Industries is solidifying its market position by continuously securing orders in the eco-friendly ship market, represented by LNG-fueled vessels.
On the 18th, Samsung Heavy Industries announced that it had secured an order for four ultra-large crude carriers (VLCC) powered by LNG fuel from an Oceania-based shipping company, totaling 458.7 billion KRW. These vessels are scheduled to be delivered sequentially by June 2023.
Including the order for five LNG-fueled container ships last week, Samsung Heavy Industries has secured a total of nine LNG-fueled vessels worth approximately 1.2 trillion KRW within a week, brightening the performance outlook for the upcoming era of eco-friendly ships.
The newly ordered vessels will incorporate numerous eco-friendly technologies to comply with regulations on ship air pollutant emissions such as sulfur oxides and carbon dioxide.
To use LNG as the main fuel, the ships will be equipped with Samsung Heavy Industries’ independently developed LNG fuel supply system (S-Fugas) for high-pressure gas-diesel engines (ME-GI). In addition to various energy-saving devices that reduce ship friction resistance, technologies such as shaft generators that produce electricity using the rotational power of the propulsion engine shaft will be applied to drastically reduce fuel consumption.
Recently, Samsung Heavy Industries has expanded its engineering capabilities for the core LNG fuel supply system technology from the existing low-pressure gas-diesel engine (X-DF) to high-pressure engines (ME-GI), enabling technical support for all LNG-fueled vessels and standing out in the competition for eco-friendly ship orders.
A Samsung Heavy Industries official emphasized, "As environmental regulations in the shipbuilding and shipping industries become stricter, demand for LNG-fueled vessels is expected to expand further," adding, "We will continue to maintain our leadership in the eco-friendly ship market based on relentless technology development and construction performance."
Meanwhile, Samsung Heavy Industries has recorded orders for a total of 14 vessels worth 1.7 billion USD across various ship types, including one LNG carrier, nine container ships, and four crude oil carriers, achieving 22% of this year’s order target of 7.8 billion USD.
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