Hyundai Mipo cuts steel for 1st smart electric passenger ship

South Korea’s shipbuilder Hyundai Mipo Dockyard is building an electric propulsion and LNG-fueled passenger ship that integrates various information and communication technologies.

Hyundai Mipo is building the vessel in partnership with the city government of Ulsan, South Korea, and the Ulsan Information Industry Promotion Agency (UIPA). The partnership, therefore, focuses on technology design, construction, and certification of Korean smart electric-powered ships.

The steel-cutting ceremony took place on 19 October.

The vessel will be 89.2 metres long, 12.8 metres wide and 5.4 metres deep. It will be capable of accommodating about 300 passengers.

The 2,800-tonnes vessel will feature a dual-fuel LNG engine capable of driving it at up to 16 knots.

The ship will feature DC Grid-based electric propulsion system to maximize fuel efficiency.

Also, it is the first eco-friendly smart ship in Korea that will include four core ITC convergence technologies. 

In addition, it will have the latest smart ship technologies for passenger safety, such as the ‘ smart maintenance function ‘ that self-diagnoses aging equipment.

The shipyard will deliver the vessel in October 2022.

In short, HMI considers this a new milestone in the eco-friendly ship market.