South Korea plans to build LNG bunkering terminals at some of its ports as part of a drive to dominate the market for building ships fuelled by both oil and gas.
The Korean energy ministry said it hoped to win 70 per cent of global orders for duel-fuel tankers by 2025. South Korea currently has approximately 41 per cent of the World's shipbuilding market, ahead of Japan (29 per cent) and China (24 per cent).
LNG-fuelled tanker and LNG bunkering markets are expected to grow rapidly as restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions will increase interest in cleaner fuels.
In a statement made by the ministry on July 15, that it expected the international market for manufacturing LNG-fuelled ships and modifying other vessels to take LNG to soar to a value of nearly KRW150 trillion (US$130 billion) in around a decade – from the KRW six trillion value currently estimated.
"From a long-term perspective, we will build LNG bunkering terminals at the country's major ports where large vessels arrive and depart," the ministry said.
The government plans to add an LNG bunkering terminal to a public gas terminal in the city of Tongyeong, about 370 kilometres south of Seoul, by 2017 with similar facilities in the cities of Gwangyang, Boryeong and Incheon later.
The world's second-largest LNG importer also plans to start running bunkering shuttles from vessels carrying LNG to those that need it as fuel in 2018.
