Core Technologies Secured
HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the mid-tier shipbuilding holding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries, announced on July 19 that it recently signed a shipbuilding contract with Greece’s Capital Maritime Group for two 22,000 cubic meter-class Liquid CO2 (LCO2) carriers totaling 179 billion won (US$141 million).
The LCO2 carriers to be constructed are 159.9 m long, 27.4 m wide, and 17.8 m high, and are scheduled to be sequentially delivered to the shipowner from the second half of 2025 after being built at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Ulsan. The ship has been designed for the environmentally friendly purpose of transporting liquefied carbon dioxide (CO2), and it ensures diversity in ship operation by being designed to transport a variety of liquefied gas cargo, including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and ammonia (NH3).
Meanwhile, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering has been focusing on the development of core technologies in this field, receiving basic certification from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Lloyd's Register (LR), and Liberian Registry for 74,000 cubic meters, 40,000 cubic meters, and 30,000 cubic meters LCO2 carriers at Gastech, a global gas exhibition, in September last year.
A representative of the Capital Maritime Group said, “We look forward to leading the CO2 carrier market by partnering with HD Hyundai, which is the most technologically prepared in the field of next-generation environmentally friendly ships.”
An HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering official stated, “We expect orders for large and ultra-large LCO2 carriers to continue,” adding, “We will lead the market in this field based on the results of our preemptive technology development efforts.”