In this blog post, we will look at whether ship and marine engineering can become a key technology for a sustainable future.
Quite a lot of time has passed since the term “global era, global society” came into use. Wireless technologies such as Morse code and the telephone have made great contributions to the establishment of this global society. However, there were limits to the material exchange that could be achieved through wireless technologies, and long-distance communication was difficult. It was the development of the shipbuilding industry that allowed these limitations to be overcome. It played an important role in forming a global society because it could carry a huge amount of goods and people across continents, no matter how far apart they were. The shipbuilding industry, which enables trade between continents, applies shipbuilding and marine engineering technology to build ships and infrastructure such as ports, and the discipline that deals with these fields is shipbuilding and marine engineering.
In the past, the field of ship and ocean engineering was mainly focused on ships. Typical ships include passenger ships, cargo ships, cargo ships, container ships, warships, and special ships. Cargo ships transport cargo and passengers, while cargo ships transport general cargo, steel, automobiles, frozen cargo, etc. Special ships are, as the name suggests, ships equipped with functions to perform special tasks such as weather observation and seabed construction. However, a great number of these ships were built during the heyday of the shipbuilding industry about 10 years ago, and the current situation is one of global saturation. Generally, the life of a ship is promised to be 20 to 30 years, so the demand for ships is expected to increase only after about 20 years. Therefore, many related companies are currently shifting their business in a different direction, and the direction of shipbuilding and marine engineering is also shifting in line with this trend. The current changing trend is the offshore plant industry.
The offshore plant industry is in constant demand by oil companies because it can utilize the vast amount of resources stored in the deep sea, while land-based oil resources are being depleted. There are various types of offshore plants. For example, the drill ship, which is widely known even by people who do not major in shipbuilding, is also a type of offshore plant. In addition to the drill ship, FPSO (Floating Production Storage & Offloading) and FSRU (Floating Storage Re-gasification Unit) are also representative offshore plants. An FPSO is a floating production, storage and offloading facility that is used to extract crude oil from storage locations discovered by drill ships, extract the desired components, store them, and transfer them to other transport vessels. An FSRU is a structure that receives LNG from an LNG carrier at sea, stores it, and vaporizes it. Recently, companies that want offshore plants have been demanding more advanced technology, so shipbuilding and marine industries have been competitive in shipyards that can produce a wide variety of products in small quantities.
Although Korea’s offshore plant technology is quite low compared to other countries and it is only a latecomer in the offshore plant industry. However, the driving force that enabled Korea to quickly catch up with and surpass the technology of the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan, which were once shipbuilding powers, was the development of shipbuilding and marine engineering technology that enabled construction in a short period of time based on the principle of small production of many types. Based on this experience, the role of shipbuilding and marine engineering is to enable us to become a leader in the offshore plant sector. In addition, shipbuilding and marine engineering is continuously developing through various research and development, which will make a great contribution to further developing the global society in the future.
Marine and offshore engineering is not just about the technology of building ships, but also about various research and technology development to protect the marine environment and achieve sustainable development. For example, eco-friendly ship technology to reduce marine pollution, various research to protect marine ecosystems, and technology development to efficiently utilize marine resources. These efforts are making a great contribution to the development of the entire marine industry, not just the offshore plant industry.
In addition, the convergence of shipbuilding and marine engineering with various fields is opening up new possibilities. For example, the convergence with information technology (IT) is leading to the development of smart ships and autonomous ships, which are greatly improving the efficiency and safety of the maritime industry. In addition, research is actively being conducted to develop lighter and stronger ships through the convergence of new material technology.
As such, ship and ocean engineering is leading the development of the maritime industry through continuous research and development, and will continue to play an important role in the sustainable development of the global community. Therefore, students majoring in ship and ocean engineering should go beyond simply learning technology and approach their studies with a sense of responsibility to protect the marine environment and achieve sustainable development as a member of the global community.
In conclusion, shipbuilding and marine engineering is an academic discipline that is making a significant contribution to the development of global society. The development of the shipbuilding industry has made it possible to trade between continents, which has played a major role in forming a global society. In addition, the development of the offshore plant industry has paved the way for the use of deep-sea resources even when land resources are depleted, and various research and technological developments are being made to achieve sustainable development. Students majoring in shipbuilding and marine engineering should understand this important role and approach their studies with a passion for their studies and a sense of responsibility.
