Shipbuilding and offshore engineering has played an important role in building a global society, and as a discipline that pursues resource utilization and sustainable development through the development of the offshore plant industry, it is protecting the marine environment and increasing the efficiency of the industry through various research and technology development.
It has been quite a while since the term ‘global era, global society’ appeared, and wireless technologies such as Morse code, telephones, etc. have contributed greatly to building this global society. However, wireless technology had its limitations in terms of material exchange and difficulty in communicating over long distances. It was the development of the shipbuilding industry that overcame these limitations. It played an important role in creating a global society because it was able to transport huge amounts of goods and people between continents, no matter how far apart they were. The technology of the shipbuilding industry – the building of ships and the construction of infrastructure such as ports – is applied to make trade between continents possible, and the discipline that deals with these areas is shipbuilding and marine engineering.
Historically, the field of shipbuilding and marine engineering has focused on ships. Typical vessels include passenger ships, cargo ships, freighters, container ships, warships, and specialty ships. Passenger ships are ships that carry a combination of cargo and passengers, cargo ships are ships that carry general merchandise, steel, cars, frozen cargo, and so on, and specialty ships are literally ships that are equipped to perform specialized tasks, such as weather observation and undersea construction. However, these ships were built in such large numbers during the heyday of the shipbuilding industry, which was about a decade ago, that the current situation is a global saturation of ships. Since the lifespan of a ship is usually promised to be 20 to 30 years, the demand for ships is expected to increase only after about 20 years. Therefore, many related companies are now shifting their business in a different direction, and the direction of shipbuilding and offshore engineering is also shifting to match this trend. One trend that is currently changing is the offshore plant industry.
The offshore plant industry is constantly increasing in demand from oil companies because it can utilize the huge amount of resources stored in the deep sea as the oil resources on land are depleting. There are several types of offshore plants. For example, drill ships, which many people who are not majoring in shipbuilding engineering may be familiar with, belong to a wide range of offshore plants. In addition to drill ships, FPSO (Floating Production Storage & Offloading) and FSRU (Floating Storage Re-gasification Unit) are representative offshore plants. An FPSO is a floating production storage and offloading facility, which is a structure that draws crude oil directly from a reservoir discovered by a drill ship, extracts the desired components, stores it, and delivers it to another transportation vessel. FSRU is a structure that receives LNG from LNG carriers at sea, stores it, and vaporizes it. In recent years, companies seeking offshore plants have been demanding more advanced technology, so shipyards that can produce various types of products in small batches have a competitive advantage in the shipbuilding and offshore industry.
Although South Korea’s offshore plant technology is quite low compared to other countries, and it is only a latecomer in the offshore plant industry. However, the driving force behind Korea’s ability to quickly catch up with and surpass the technology of the UK, the US, and Japan, which were once shipbuilding powers, was the development of shipbuilding and offshore engineering technology, which made it possible to build ships in a short period of time based on the principle of small-scale production of various types of ships. Based on this experience, it will be the role of shipbuilding and offshore engineering to enable Korea to become a leader in the field of offshore plants. In addition, shipbuilding and offshore engineering is continuously developing through various research and development, which will contribute to the further development of global society.
Shipbuilding and offshore engineering is not just about building ships, but also about developing various research and technology to protect the marine environment and achieve sustainable development. For example, eco-friendly ship technology to reduce marine pollution, various research to protect marine ecosystems, and the development of technologies to efficiently utilize marine resources. These efforts are making a significant contribution to the development of not only the offshore plant industry but also the entire maritime industry.
In addition, shipbuilding and offshore engineering is opening up new possibilities through convergence with various fields. For example, convergence with information technology (IT) is leading to the development of smart ships and autonomous ships, which are greatly improving the efficiency and safety of the maritime industry. In addition, research is being conducted to develop lighter and stronger ships through convergence with new material technologies.
As such, shipbuilding and offshore engineering is leading the development of the maritime industry through continuous research and development, and will continue to play an important role in the sustainable development of global society. Therefore, students majoring in shipbuilding and offshore engineering should not only learn technology, but also take responsibility for protecting the marine environment and achieving sustainable development as a member of global society.
In conclusion, shipbuilding and offshore engineering is a discipline that has made important contributions to the development of global society. The development of the shipbuilding industry has enabled trade between continents, which has played a major role in building a global society. In addition, the development of the offshore plant industry has opened the way to utilize deep-sea resources even when land resources are depleted, and we are striving to achieve sustainable development through various research and technology development. Students majoring in shipbuilding and offshore engineering will need to understand these important roles and approach their studies with passion and responsibility.
