Asia/Pacific News
Korean Register Opens World's First Green Ship Certification Center
Classification society Korean Register (KR) Thursday said in an emailed press release it has opened the world's first green ship equipment certification centre opened Thursday in Gunsan, Jeonbuk, Korea.
KR says it opened the 30bn won ($29.4 million) facility to test, evaluate, and certify green ship equipment.
Operated by KR, the facility will also carry out joint research and development projects focusing on green-ship technology, expand Korea's test and certification business, and attract related businesses to the area.
"This centre was created to provide our clients with holistic services covering technical consulting, engineering and certification," said Dr. B. S. Park, chairman & CEO of KR.
"We are delighted to be the world's first centre to offer a one-stop service for testing and certifying green-ship components and machinery in a single location."
Park added that "this is a further example of KR operating beyond compliance and I am confident that this new facility will help our clients enhance their technical quality which will, in turn, have a positive effect on the shipping industry as a whole."
The centre was created in response to IMO's greenhouse gas emissions reduction and maritime pollution regulations and will reportedly enable KR and partners to lead the way in certifying essential green ship components, including engines.
The facility is equipped with an 8MW-class engine test-bed, hybrid power systems, a fuel Q/P and emission bench, Organic Ranking Cycle (ORC) systems and other components; the engine test bed is the first to be available anywhere in the world and is reportedly attracting significant interest from major shipyards.
Earlier this year KR developed a new software program to optimise fuel switching times for vessels when entering and exiting ECAs.
