By Yoon Sojung
Photos = Hyoja-dong Studio

President Moon Jae-in on Jan. 3 emphasized the technological prowess and competitiveness of Korean shipbuilders, assuring them that, “Korea can become a global shipbuilding leader once again.”

President Moon was visiting Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering's Okpo Shipyard in Geoje, Gyeongsangnam-do Province, to inspect the shipbuilding yard of an icebreaker arctic liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker.

The president said, “The vision of becoming a global shipbuilder is a national task that we cannot give up.”

“Korea’s icebreaker LNG carrier, the first in the world, is proof of this belief.”




While onboard the icebreaker LNG carrier, named after the Russian polar explorer Vladmimir Rusanov (1875-1913), President Moon said, “Onboard this icebreaker LNG carrier, I'm envisioning the future for the Korean shipbuilding industry, a ship that can sail the Arctic Ocean in extreme conditions by breaking through 2-meter-thick ice in temperatures as low as minus 52 C.”

“The government will protect and bring up your hope,” he said.

The icebreaker LNG carrier the president inspected is equipped with state-of-the-art technology that's specialized in polar regions. It enables the ship to safely navigate cold weather in temperatures as low as minutes 52 C. The tanker is also designed with a special ship structure that has a 70 mm thick ultra-high-strength steel hull that can protect the carrier from breaking or colliding against the ice.

President Moon vowed that his administration would set up measures to help grow the shipbuilding industry within the first quarter of the year. These measures will include increasing orders for public ships for ice breaker research or contraband-control vessels, creating a large-scale offshore wind power park, and supporting R&D into environmentally friendly autonomous navigation technology



arete@korea.kr