NEWS

Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (CEO Kim Hyung-kwan) has aggressively stepped up to prevent the spread of COVID-19 that may occur during sea trials. 

Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries said, "We first installed an antivirus lamp on the ‘VL Bright’, a 318,000-ton Very Large Crude oil Carrier scheduled for trial from the 4th to the 10th to prevent the spread of COVID-19." 

About 10 antiviral lamps have been installed on the ship, mainly in enclosed spaces such as control rooms, engine rooms, conference rooms, and restaurants. These lamps are characterized by a fast disinfection speed, enough to eliminate 99% of the virus within 30 seconds, while being harmless to human body. 

In addition, the sterilization function can be utilized continuously while the lamp is on, preventing the spread of various infectious diseases in addition to the coronavirus. 

During the trial operation, at least 100 people, including not only company employees but engineers, ship owners, and crew members overseeing major equipment and materials installed on the ship, will board for at least weeks to conduct various tests. 

However, there have been concerns about the large-scale spread of the virus on board, as it may not be possible to detect all confirmed patients due to incubation periods, despite two pre-boarding COVID tests for all passengers. 

An official from Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries said, "Starting with the sea trial of the VL Bright, we have secured virus-germicidal lamps that can be installed on a total of three ships, and we plan to apply them to all ships in the future." 

He also added, "We plan to build an antiviral certified ship by reflecting the virus-germicidal lamp installed this time in our future design," adding, "We expect many customers to show interest in building antiviral ships, as this can protect sailors from various infectious diseases and prevent operational losses."