New Korean intiative to work on safe tank design for green ships

South Korea’s classification society Korean Register (KR) and compatriot shipbuilding majors HD Hyundai Mipo and HD KSOE have launched a joint initiative to enhance the safety and sustainability of tank design for green ships.

The partners have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to apply Engineering Critical Assessment (ECA) techniques to the design of Type-C cargo tanks for liquefied gas carriers to ensure their structural safety.

Type-C tanks are commonly used on small to mid-sized gas carriers and bunkering vessels due to their structural independence and ability to store high-pressure cargo, and therefore require precise structural analysis to ensure safety while transporting alternative fuels such as LNG, ammonia, and hydrogen.

KR, HD Hyundai Mipo, and HD KSOE aim to address these technical challenges by applying ECA·,a fracture mechanics-based structural analysis method·from the early stages of design.

ECA simulates potential crack propagation in metallic structures and assesses whether they can safely withstand real-world operating conditions. The methodology is particularly well-suited for high-pressure, low-temperature environments such as those found in liquefied gas storage, KR explained.

Under the MoU, HD Hyundai Mipo will conduct structural strength and fatigue assessments of the tanks, and HD KSOE will lead tank design and perform ECA-based structural evaluations.

KR will review the safety and compliance of the design in accordance with its classification rules and the international convention (IGC Code), with the goal of issuing an approval in principle (AIP).

LEE Dong-ju, Senior Vice President of HD KSOE, said: “This project marks meaningful progress in ensuring both structural safety and design rationality of fuel tanks for green ships through the application of advanced structural evaluation techniques. We remain committed to advancing design and manufacturing technologies for environmentally friendly vessels.”