"Bulk Carrier Loaded with Iron Ore as Eco-Friendly Raw Material"... POSCO, World's First Voyage

The HL Green, an LNG-powered bulk carrier dedicated to transporting raw materials for POSCO, is unloading iron ore at the Gwangyang raw material pier. The round orange part is the LNG fuel tank.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Last month, a ship carrying 180,000 tons of iron ore departed from Mokpo and arrived on the 20th at POSCO's Gwangyang Steelworks raw material pier in South Korea. The HL Green, an eco-friendly vessel powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), marks the world's first successful overseas voyage of a large bulk carrier using LNG as fuel.

This ship is POSCO's LNG-powered overseas raw material exclusive vessel, which can reduce sulfur oxides by 99% and nitrogen oxides by about 85% compared to conventional bulk carriers that mainly use bunker oil. These are major air pollutants that cause fine dust. Due to stricter regulations lowering the sulfur oxide content in fuel from the previous 3.5% to below 0.5%, ships must use LNG or low-sulfur fuel oil or install desulfurization equipment.

POSCO proactively decided in 2018, ahead of international regulations, to replace two existing raw material exclusive vessels with LNG-powered ships in partnership with H Line Shipping. The shipbuilding was completed in December last year, and after the naming ceremony, the first voyage was successfully completed on this day. The vessel was designed and built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, and POSCO supplied 9% nickel steel for the cryogenic fuel tanks, including steel plates, which had previously been imported from overseas. The shipping company was initially hesitant to introduce LNG-powered ships due to insufficient LNG fuel supply infrastructure, but the deal was finalized after POSCO promised stable cargo volume through a long-term transportation contract.

Meanwhile, besides the two LNG-powered vessels, POSCO has installed desulfurization equipment on 21 out of 38 overseas raw material exclusive vessels. Other ships will also be converted to eco-friendly vessels through consultations with shipping and shipbuilding companies. On the 26th, another green ship and its twin, the HL Eco, will arrive at Gwangyang Steelworks from Australia carrying coal.