HJ Shipbuilding & Construction has secured a KRW 68.8 billion contract to build the Korea Coast Guard’s first 1,900-ton multi-purpose chemical response vessel, reaffirming its technological leadership in the special-purpose shipbuilding sector.
The company announced that it was selected as the top-ranked bidder following a comprehensive evaluation of price and technical capabilities for the construction of one 1,900-ton multi-purpose chemical response vessel ordered by the Public Procurement Service.
Chemical response vessels are highly specialized ships equipped with chemical analysis systems, oil recovery equipment, and towing facilities for distressed vessels. Designed to prevent and respond to maritime chemical accidents, these ships require exceptionally high safety standards and advanced shipbuilding expertise. As a result, they are operated only by a limited number of advanced countries, including the United States, Germany, and Sweden.
The Korea Coast Guard introduced two 500-ton chemical response vessels in the aftermath of a fire involving the chemical carrier Maritime Maisie off the coast of Taejongdae in Busan in 2013. However, with the expansion of carbon-neutral policies and the increasing adoption of gas-powered vessels such as LNG- and hydrogen-fueled ships, the need for a larger and more capable multi-purpose chemical response vessel has continued to grow.
To ensure rapid and effective response to major maritime accidents, the Coast Guard began detailed design work last year, targeting deployment of the new vessel by 2028.
The vessel to be built by HJ Shipbuilding will measure 70 meters in length, 14.6 meters in width, and 6.5 meters in depth. It will have a top speed of 15.5 knots and a cruising range of 1,600 kilometers, enabling deployment to any maritime area around the Korean Peninsula.
Equipped with towing systems capable of handling distressed vessels of up to 30,000 tons, the ship will be able to conduct search and rescue, salvage, and firefighting operations even in rough sea conditions with wave heights of 2.5 to 4 meters. It will also be the first vessel in Korea to feature an integrated hazardous materials safety response system and detection and analysis systems. Its firefighting capacity at sea will reach 9,600 cubic meters per hour, more than four times that of existing 500-ton chemical response vessels.
HJ Shipbuilding previously delivered the country’s first 5,500-ton multi-purpose large-scale pollution response vessel, Ndamho, in 2022. With the addition of the new 1,900-ton chemical response vessel order, the company has once again demonstrated its unrivaled competitiveness in the special-purpose shipbuilding market.
An HJ Shipbuilding official said the company is honored to be selected as the builder of Korea’s first state-of-the-art multi-purpose chemical response vessel, adding that all employees will devote their full efforts to ensuring the vessel enhances the Coast Guard’s capabilities to protect public safety, national assets, and the marine environment.
