LS

■ Supplies electricity from shore, precluding the need to use engines to generate power while at berth

■ Related laws passed by the National Assembly propels market expansion

On March 19, LS Cable & System (President & CEO Roe-hyun Myung) launched the AMP(Alternative Maritime Power) cable, and began to market that to major shipbuilders and shipowners in earnest.

This cable is used to supply necessary electricity from shore facilities when a ship is at berth.

In the past, bunker C oil was mostly used as fuel to run the engine, and ships generated electricity on their own. If electricity is supplied from land, it will prevent air pollutants, such as particulate matters and sulfur oxides.

As the ‘special bill concerning improvement of air quality in harbors,’ which makes it mandatory for ships to use shore power supply facilities, passed the National Assembly plenary session on March 13. With this bill, the related market is expected to expand greatly.

“The bill is expected to contribute to the improvement of air quality significantly although it is still sad the bill is only compulsory for ports and still a recommendation for ships,” said a spokesperson of the company.

Sulfur oxides, discharged by one container ship, are equivalent to about 50 million diesel cars, and the ultrafine particles are equivalent to about 500,000 truckloads. Research found that about 10% of all ultrafine particles come from the exhaust of ships.

As the Kyoto Protocol officially went into effect in 2005, advanced countries such as the US (and especially the state of California, home to several large container ports) have already made it legally mandatory to have shore power systems installed in ships to reduce air pollution.

As for shore power cables, the ship coupling device tends to move even when the ship is moored at berth. To address this, LS Cable & System uses a copper conductor and rubber insulation/sheath materials with improved flexibility and resilience to reinforce its durability.