Samsung Heavy Industries announced that the completion ceremony for LNG pilot test facility was held at Geoje shipyard, hosted by its President & CEO Jin-Taek Jung.

The ceremony was joined by ship owners including KOGAS, Celsius Shipping, Maran Gas Maritime, ENI and classification societies ABS, BV, DNV, KR, and LR. Political figures including Geoje Mayor Byun Gwang-yong and lawmaker Seo Iljun also attended, highlighting the high expectations for the LNG test facility.

Installed on land which is 3,630 square metres large, the facility will be the one and only R&D facility for LNG in the shipbuilding & offshore industry, which develops and tests core technologies for the LNG value chain from natural gas production, transportation, and storage to supply.

Taking advantage of this, SHI aims to further solidify its position in building eco-friendly vessels like LNG carriers and LNG-fuelled ships.

The completion of the LNG test facility is expected to support advancement of innovative technologies, such as natural gas liquefaction and reliquefaction process, gas engine & fuelling system, cryogenic insulation storage container, regasification & cold power generation and localisation of LNG-related equipment as well.

SHI CEO Jin-Taek Jung said: “Using the facility, SHI’s in-house innovative LNG technologies, such as SENSE-IV, the only natural gas liquefaction system in the shipbuilding industry and S-REGAS (CGR), the first-ever regasification system linked to power generation utilising cold energy were successfully developed. Our LNG pilot test facility will be a breakthrough in LNG technology innovation in line with our clients’ ESG goals.”

Site manager of Celsius Shipping Bjorn Berg said: “Decarbonisation is one of the greatest challenges that the shipping industry has ever faced. We hope SHI will keep playing a pivotal role in developing diverse LNG solutions that have fulfilled the market demand.”

Meanwhile, as a pioneer in the LNG sector, SHI has received orders for more than 170 LNGCs to date and designed and built the world’s first FLNG. This year, it has won multiple deals to build LNG-fuelled vessels to further strengthen its competitive power in the market.

About Samsung Heavy Industries

Samsung Heavy Industries has successfully completed many of the world's first and largest shipbuilding and offshore EPC projects, with sole aim to establish global leadership in each of the participating market segments.

Most notably, it has achieved unbeatable leadership in the high-tech high-value shipbuilding sector by maintaining the world’s No. 1 share in the drill ship, LNG carrier and FPSO markets.

The company has developed and built the first Arctic Shuttle-Tanker and LNG-FPSOs in the world, and has pioneered new market developments by developing innovative products such as LNG-FSRU, and various ships for polar applications, Arctic Ice-Breaker Container Ships.

In the offshore facilities sector, the company has fortified its reputation through its excellent technology and rich experience, by successfully delivering the world’s largest semi-submerged offshore drilling platform.