Back to the future at HHI with 'on-ground building' of ships
Over capacity in dry docks means a new take on old ways


Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has started to assemble an 82,000㎥ Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) Carrier without the use of a dry dock. Instead, this ship will be constructed using on-ground shipbuilding methods.

On Monday, April 23rd, HHI’s Offshore & Engineering Division held a keel-laying ceremony for the LPG carrier ordered by the Norwegian company Bergesen. The ship will be completed and delivered to Bergesen by November of this year.

HHI’s Offshore & Engineering Division has previously built 105,000dwt (dead weight ton) crude oil carriers through on-ground shipbuilding methods. HHI has begun using these methods to build higher-value added ships, the first of which will be the Bergesen-ordered LPG Carrier. In order to adapt these methods to the new types of ships, the Offshore & Engineering Division has reorganized its facilities, developing a large-block assembly method with its 1500-ton class crane. These advancements will allow HHI to assemble each 1400 ton LPG cargo tank in its entirety rather than in separately constructed sections.

The ship, once constructed, will be moved from the construction area onto a barge in the water through a complicated and advanced Air Pad System (APS). This innovative system allows HHI to construct new ships even when their dry docks are already at full capacity.