HJ Shipbuilding & Construction said on the 24th that it signed a supply contract to build one multipurpose chemical response vessel ordered by the Korea Coast Guard, worth 68.8 billion won. With an order for a 1,900-ton chemical response vessel, this is the first domestic contract for a large multipurpose chemical response vessel exceeding 300–500 tons.
The multipurpose chemical response vessel ordered this time is 70 meters long, 14.6 meters wide, and 6.5 meters deep, can reach a top speed of 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h), and has a range of 1,600 km. HJ Shipbuilding & Construction said it can be deployed for response missions in the event of an accident at sea anywhere off Korea, which is surrounded by the sea on three sides.
It is also equipped with towing facilities for large distressed ships of 30,000 tons and can carry out search, rescue, and firefighting activities even in rough seas with wave heights of 2.5–4 meters. It will be equipped, for the first time domestically, with a hazardous and noxious substances safety response system and a detection and analysis system capable of responding to marine pollution and chemical response incidents. Its marine firefighting capacity also reaches 9,600 m³ per hour, more than four times that of existing 500-ton-class chemical response vessels.
A chemical response vessel is a patrol ship equipped with chemical analysis equipment, oil skimmers, and towing facilities for accident ships that performs preparedness and response duties for maritime chemical incidents. It requires higher safety than general ships and advanced shipbuilding technology. Even overseas, it is operated only by some countries, including the United States, Germany, and Sweden.
The Korea Coast Guard introduced and has been operating two 500-ton-class chemical response vessels following the fire on the chemical carrier Maritime Maisie off Taejongdae, Busan, in 2013. Recently, with the expansion of carbon neutrality policies, the introduction of gas-fueled ships such as LNG and hydrogen has increased, and the need for multipurpose chemical response vessels capable of responding to large-scale maritime chemical accidents has been consistently raised.
HJ Shipbuilding & Construction delivered, for the first time domestically, a 5,500-ton-class multipurpose large response ship ordered by the Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation (KOEM) in 2022.
An HJ Shipbuilding & Construction official said, "We have been honored to be selected as the builder of the nation's first state-of-the-art multipurpose chemical response vessel, recognizing our expertise and technological capabilities in the special-purpose ship sector," and added, "All of our executives and employees will devote ourselves to building the latest multipurpose chemical response vessel so that the Korea Coast Guard can enhance its incident response capabilities and fully carry out its mission to protect people's safety and property and the marine environment."