Korean Register approves HD HHI’s LNG dual-fuel VLGC design

Classification society Korean Register (KR) has awarded an Approval in Principle (AiP) for an LNG dual-fuel very large gas carrier (VLGC) jointly developed by KR and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI), a subsidiary of South Korean shipbuilder HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE).

Currently, the global maritime industry is grappling with the development of various countermeasures to meet strengthening greenhouse gas regulations, and market interest in eco-friendly fueled ships such as LNG is particularly high.

The newly approved LNG dual-fuel VLGC, which has been developed in response, utilizes both marine gas oil (MGO) and LNG as fuel and incorporates two LNG fuel tanks positioned on both sides of the open deck.

HD HHI executed the ship’s basic design, established the layout of fuel supply pipes and the gas detection system, and designed the LNG fuel tank using their technical expertise.

Meanwhile, KR verified the safety, suitability and regulatory compliance of the design by reviewing national and international regulations, leading to the issuance of the AiP for the LNG dual-fuel VLGC.

The approval was signed at this week’s Gastech 2023.

“KR has been focusing on the development of eco-friendly technologies relevant to LNG for several years because LNG is considered a major alternative that can meet the international regulations. We will further enhance our customer support to respond to decarbonization, based on our experience and technologies acquired from joint development projects with shipyards,” KIM Yeontae, Executive Vice President of KR technical division stated.

“HD HHI has been working to develop eco-friendly fuel propulsion ships such as LNG using our accumulated design technologies, and we are pleased to demonstrate our technical expertise with this AIP. We will continue to make technological innovations for the development of eco-friendly ships,” JEON Seungho, HD HHI’s Senior Executive Vice President & CTO commented.