SHI first Korean shipbuilder to win Clean Shipping Award

Samsung Heavy Industries won a Clean Shipping Award given by Nor-Shipping for the Amundsen Spirit, a 110,000 ton shuttle tanker that is currently under construction, a first for a Korean shipbuilder.

With the strengthening of environmental regulations in the global shipbuilding industry, the Clean Shipping Awards were created in 2009 by DNV and Nor-Shipping, the world’s largest marine transportation and shipping fair, to recognize companies that take a leadership role in the areas of environmental protection and eco-friendly shipbuilding technology.

The award-winning Amundsen Spirit is the 1st of the four 110,000 ton shuttle tanker ships that Samsung Heavy Industries is building for an order from Teekay (Canada). The ship won the award for its excellent eco-friendly design that reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

The cutting-edge eco-friendly ship fully complies with DNV environmental regulations, which are the most stringent in the world, and was built in accordance with the Guidance for Green Passport, which will be mandated soon.

Samsung Heavy Industries also announced that it intends to be proactive in anticipating tighter regulations on gas emissions, and will enhance its sales capability with a ship that dramatically reduces emissions of volatile organic compounds during operation, has adopted a new VOC system (Volatile Organic Compounds System), and maximizes fuel efficiency through optimized design.

The EU and North America are already designated as ECAs (Emission Control Areas), which requires ships traveling in these areas to gradually comply with strict environmental standards in relation to gas emissions. On a global level, environmental regulations are increasingly being tightened.

By winning a Clean Shipping Award, Samsung Heavy Industries demonstrates that it can build highly efficient eco-friendly ships that meet the new trend of the global shipbuilding industry. SHI predicts that the ability to design and build eco-friendly ships will determine the competitiveness of shipbuilders when demand for ships picks up in the future.

A spokesperson for Samsung Heavy Industries said, “We intend to focus on developing new technologies related to eco-friendliness and clean ships, including technologies to reduce CO2 emissions, clean fuels and methods of hazardous waste treatment. We will transform these new blue-ocean products into new growth engines by developing clean technologies.”