Hanwha Ocean seeks greener, smarter shipyard

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Business

Sat, December 9, 2023 | 23:56

Companies

Hanwha Ocean seeks greener, smarter shipyard

Posted : 2023-10-30 14:00

Updated : 2023-10-30 19:05

A robot welds steel plates during a demonstration at Hanwha Ocean's shipyard on Geoje Island in South Gyeongsang Province, Friday. Courtesy of Hanwha Ocean

AI, robotics used to build eco-friendly vessels

By Park Jae-hyuk

GEOJE, South Gyeongsang Province ― Warning messages written in seven different languages were seen at every corner of Hanwha Ocean’s shipyard on the southeastern island of Geoje last Friday, indicating the importance of migrant labor in the Korean shipbuilding industry.

The Virtual Reality Spray Training Center inside the shipyard also supports multiple languages including Vietnamese, Thai, Khmer and Indonesian, for painters from Southeast Asian countries to improve their skills by repeatedly practicing spray-gun techniques more conveniently.

But still, the number of foreign workers is not enough to address the lingering labor shortage at domestic shipyards, according to Hanwha Ocean.

To show its solutions, the shipbuilder invited reporters to its shipyard, which was redecorated in orange, Hanwha Group’s brand color, after the group acquired Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering earlier this year. The press tour was held a few days after the shipbuilder made its first quarterly operating profit in 12 quarters.

While strictly prohibiting reporters from taking photos for security reasons, Hanwha Ocean introduced its efforts to automate up to 70 percent of shipbuilding processes by utilizing artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and various other digital technologies.

At the Smart Yard Operation Center, the shipbuilder explained how it uses drones and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to monitor test operations of ships and transportation of blocks off the coast. The company said it is also developing an AI system to detect its blocks automatically.

“The recent demographic change led us to be desperate to pursue digitalization and automation in our manufacturing processes,” said the leader of Hanwha Ocean’s smart yard research team. “We have not only improved productivity but also strengthened safety management with digital technologies.”

Hanwha Ocean said it uses more than 80 robots in over 10 sectors of the shipbuilding process. In particular, the company demonstrated various types of welding robots developed to cope with the labor shortage and industrial accidents.

“Our lightweight welding robots enabled female operators to be engaged in welding jobs,” a Hanwha Ocean engineer said.

Four liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers are under construction at the No. 1 dock of Hanwha Ocean's shipyard on Geoje Island in South Gyeongsang Province, Friday. Courtesy of Hanwha Ocean

During the press tour, the shipbuilder emphasized its ongoing efforts to reduce carbon emissions, showcasing the No. 1 dock where four liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers were under construction.

“Just a year ago, the No. 1 dock was filled with very large crude carriers (VLCCs),” a Hanwha Ocean spokesman said. “But now, among the 99 ships to be built at our shipyard, 65 are LNG carriers.”

To maintain its lead in eco-friendly shipbuilding technologies, Hanwha Ocean’s shipyard also accommodates various research facilities. The shipbuilder is the first of its kind to build a facility for the study of extremely low temperatures.

“By using LNG instead of liquefied nitrogen, we conduct tests under the environment which is the same as an operational environment,” said a researcher at Hanwha Ocean’s energy system research lab. “Our competitor bought a foreign company’s system, but we have continuously upgraded our technologies.”

Hanwha Ocean also introduced a lab that studies the prevention of “sloshing,” which refers to the moving of liquid inside a container, which can cause damage to the wall. The sloshing research center was built in 2019 to brace for the increasing orders of eco-friendly ships that carry LNG, as well as liquefied carbon dioxide, liquefied ammonia and liquefied hydrogen.

pjh@koreatimes.co.kr