사진 확대 HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ very large LNG carrier.
South Korea’s three major shipbuilders will participate side by side in the world’s largest gas industry exhibition, competing with future ship and equipment technologies. Competition is taking shape across the entire gas value chain, from liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and transportation to the transition to carbon-free fuels.
According to the shipbuilding industry on the 7th, HD Hyundai, Hanwha Ocean, and affiliates of Samsung Heavy Industries will set up booths at Gastech 2026, which will be held from the 14th to the 17th at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC) in Bangkok, Thailand. Gastech is the world’s largest exhibition covering natural gas and LNG, as well as low-carbon solutions, hydrogen, shipping and offshore industries, and artificial intelligence (AI).
HD Hyundai will operate an integrated booth featuring HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HDKSOE), HD Hyundai Marine Solution, and HD Hyundai Electric. It will showcase five model types: LNG carriers, floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), very large gas carriers (VLGCs), LNG bunkering vessels, and liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) carriers. Researchers from HDKSOE will also speak on hydrogen maritime transportation and bunkering, ammonia safety, and physics-based digital twins.
Hanwha Ocean will display a model of a 174,000-cubic-meter-class carbon-free LNG carrier, among other exhibits. The vessel is being developed as a carbon-free electric-propulsion ship powered by an ammonia gas turbine. It incorporates fully carbon-free technology that does not use even a single drop of pilot oil for ignition.
Samsung Heavy Industries will showcase products aimed at capturing the future energy transportation market, including next-generation LNG value-chain technologies centered on floating liquefied natural gas production facilities (FLNGs). The company has expanded its position in the offshore plant market by securing a large FLNG contract in June.
Whether top executives will attend is also drawing attention. Kisun Chung, Chairman of HD Hyundai, has attended Gastech for three consecutive years, engaging with executives from major shipping companies and classification societies while personally overseeing the group’s eco-friendly ship business. He is therefore widely expected to attend again this year. Choi Sung-an, Vice Chairman of Samsung Heavy Industries, is also expected to attend with the company’s management team and discuss cooperation plans with executives from global customers.
An industry official said, “As this year’s event will be held in Bangkok, discussions targeting demand in Southeast Asia are expected to be active.”
[Reporter Park Seung-joo]
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.