POSCO will collaborate with Hanwha Ocean to expand the application of its independently developed “high-manganese steel” from liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel tanks to cargo holds, a core equipment for large LNG carriers.
POSCO announced that it signed an “MOU on Securing a High-Manganese Steel Cargo Hold Demonstration Vessel” at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje business site on the 15th, with key executives from both companies attending, including Lee Hee-geun, President of POSCO, and Kim Hee-cheol of HanwhaOh Syeon (CEO). A demonstration vessel is a ship used to verify new materials or technologies in actual operating environments.
The two companies plan to build a demonstration vessel equipped with high-manganese steel cargo holds, centered on Hanwha Ocean, and verify safety, durability, and operational efficiency in actual operating environments to secure a practical “operating track record” to present to global shipowners.
High-manganese steel is a special steel material based on POSCO’s proprietary technology that maintains excellent strength and impact toughness even in extremely low-temperature environments below minus 163 degrees Celsius. By utilizing manganese, which has abundant reserves, compared to the expensive nickel alloy steel (INVAR) primarily used in existing LNG cargo holds, it secured cost competitiveness and stability in material supply.
POSCO explained that the significance of this collaboration lies in formally expanding the application scope of high-manganese steel, which had been limited to the ship’s own fuel storage equipment, to large-scale cargo storage equipment. In particular, compared to LNG fuel tanks, LNG carrier cargo holds constitute a large-scale market where more than approximately 10,000 tons of material are invested per vessel.
In addition, high-manganese steel cargo holds can flexibly implement from “Ultra-low BOR” (Boil-Off Rate), which minimizes LNG loss according to customer requirements, to economical boil-off rates. Thanks to its excellent structural rigidity, there are no operational restrictions regarding the “sloshing” phenomenon where liquid cargo surges and impacts the walls, enhancing operational utility. Furthermore, by applying an independent structure where the cargo hold is manufactured separately and installed on the ship, the shipyard’s construction period can be shortened compared to existing methods.
Kim Hui-cheol (CEO) stated, “By concentrating the technological capabilities of both companies, we will provide cargo hold solutions equipped with safety and economic efficiency, expand applications to various low-temperature cargo transportation fields including LNG, and firmly establish Hanwha Ocean’s technological prowess in the global market.”
Lee Hui-geun (CEO) revealed, “POSCO’s unique high-manganese steel technology will become a core weapon for K-shipping industry to secure super-gap competitiveness in the global market,” adding, “Starting with LNG cargo holds, we will lead the global standard of the eco-friendly ship material market.”