Shipbuilding and marine engineering goes beyond the design and construction of ships to study various fields such as marine resource development, environmental protection, and disaster response, including offshore plants and structures, which play an important role in sustainable development and safety.
Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering is a major that deals with all engineering problems that occur on ships and in the ocean. When people hear that you are studying shipbuilding and marine engineering, they usually think that you are studying to build ships, and that’s true. However, there’s a difference between what people think “build a ship” means and what students of shipbuilding and marine engineering think “build a ship” means. Of course, there are differences in engineering knowledge between majors and non-majors, but beyond that, there are differences in the scope of what it means to build a ship. The scope of ‘ship’ is actually broader than what people think it covers, and the scope of ‘make’ is actually narrower. To add to this, ‘to make’ does not mean that shipbuilding majors are in charge of making all of the components, but rather that the ultimate role of our majors is to concentrate and systematize the many components that go into a ship based on shipbuilding engineering. When it comes to “ships,” we are not only dealing with the narrow scope of “ships” that move on the sea or river carrying people or cargo. I also started my major with a narrow scope of “ships” in mind, but the more I studied and became interested, the wider the scope of “ships” we deal with. The field I want to enter in the future also falls into this wider scope.
This broader scope includes offshore structures. Offshore structures are literally structures that are installed at sea or on the seabed and are mainly used for the exploration and extraction of energy sources such as oil and natural gas, but also for other leisure, port, and environmental facilities. Examples include offshore plants, which are offshore and undersea facilities necessary for the development of marine resources, megafloats, which are very large floating offshore structures, floating sofas, fishing reefs, fishing parks, and marine hotels. In this way, shipbuilding and offshore engineering goes beyond the narrow scope of “ships” like passenger ships and cargo ships to a broader scope of making the oceans and rivers useful for our lives.
Offshore plants are the part of offshore structures that I am most interested in. Offshore plants is an industry that includes both facilities for exploring, drilling, and producing oil or gas, typically in the ocean, and facilities related to the development of energy resources from wind, tides, and waves at sea, also known as green energy. This offshore plant sector is growing in popularity as the world continues to experience energy shortages and high oil prices.
In recent years, the growing focus on sustainable energy and combating climate change has brought the offshore sector into the spotlight. Offshore wind power is growing rapidly, especially in Europe and Asia, with large-scale projects centered in the North Sea and East China Sea. The United States is also entering this market with increased investment in offshore wind power. South Korea’s Ministry of Knowledge Economy has predicted that the related market will grow rapidly to $180 billion in 2020, $300 billion in 2025, and $440 billion in 2030. In this regard, Korea’s three major shipbuilders (Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, and Samsung Heavy Industries), which dominate the global shipbuilding market, are also investing in offshore plants. These companies are focusing on developing new technologies for offshore wind power facilities and marine resource development to strengthen their competitiveness in the global market.
In recent years, Hyundai Heavy Industries has successfully entered the European market by advancing its manufacturing technology for offshore wind farms, while Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering is leading the market by introducing innovative technologies for liquefied natural gas (LNG) production plants. Samsung Heavy Industries & Construction is significantly improving efficiency and safety through the digitalization of offshore plants, and is consolidating its position in the next-generation offshore plant market.
I am studying shipbuilding and marine engineering to enter this field. Specifically, I have studied fluid mechanics to understand water, which is the essence of the sea or river in which a ship floats; basic structural statics, which is the basic knowledge to understand whether a ship has sufficient stability and strength from external forces; basic structural dynamics, which will help me understand the movement of a ship dynamically; and this semester, I am taking ship control principles, which deals with the various control systems that make up a ship, and ship resistance propulsion system, which is a course to understand the resistance a ship encounters.
This year in particular, in addition to my major studies to cultivate engineering knowledge related to ships, I am trying to draw a more concrete and active blueprint for my future career after graduation. First of all, I’m going to think deeply about whether I want to go to graduate school or not, and if I do, what field I want to go into, and if I get a job, what kind of company I want to work for. So this semester, I’m taking a class called Introduction to Marine Engineering Research to learn more about marine engineering and graduate research fields, and I’m planning to apply for an internship during my vacation. Some of you might be a little puzzled about my thinking about what kind of company I’m going to go to, as I thought the only way I could use my major to get a job was to go into a shipyard to produce and design ships. However, as I’ve been exposed to classification (a company that has a supervisory role over ships), naval technical officers, national research institutes, etc., I’ve realized that shipyards are not the only way to go, so I’m trying to explore different paths more actively. My biggest goal for this year is to narrow down my post-graduation path, and I hope to find answers through a lot of experience, information, and conversations with myself.
Marine engineering is not just about designing and building ships, but also about solving various problems related to the marine environment. For example, finding solutions to marine pollution problems or developing technologies to protect marine ecosystems is one of the important research areas in marine engineering. These research contributes to the sustainable utilization of marine resources and the conservation of marine ecosystems.
Another important role is to build marine disaster response systems. It is necessary to develop a system that can prevent marine accidents that may occur due to natural disasters and respond quickly when they occur. To this end, we are building predictive models and real-time monitoring systems utilizing the latest technology to enhance maritime safety.
The curriculum of the Department of Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering is organized to help students develop practical problem-solving skills by balancing theory and practice. Through various research projects and laboratory exercises, students can cultivate practical skills required in the field. In addition, international collaborative research provides students with the opportunity to grasp the latest trends in the global maritime industry and to be exposed to diverse cultures and knowledge.
As such, shipbuilding and offshore engineering is constantly evolving to meet various social needs such as environmental preservation and disaster response along with the development of the maritime industry. I will continue to strive to become a shipbuilding and offshore engineer who can contribute to these developments.
